Love Potion No9
by Ultrawoman
Summary: AU Season 4. Why have Lex and Chloe suddenly got such a taste for a local spring water with a decidely pink hue? And perhaps more importantly, when and why did they start making out constantly! Clark and Lois intend to find out. Chlex. Clois.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I'm not so sure that anyone still reads Chlex fic over here...? Surely everybody has joined the fabulous Naughty Seduction by now, but just in case, I thought I should post this story over here too. Three chapters all at once, since thats where we're up to. Oh, and please be aware that although this is rated R (M), it will mostly be PG-13 (T), the higher rating is a 'just in case' thing.**

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**Disclaimer - All recognisable characters belong to DC Comics and Millar Gough Ink, not me!**

Chapter 1

"Okay, not to be picky, but I'm pretty sure I asked for just water..." Chloe said, as she held her glass up to the light and eyed it suspiciously.

Since it was both unlikely and obvious that it wasn't the glass that was pink in colour, that suggested the liquid inside had the rosy hue that was making the blonde a little nervous. Not that she thought her friend, Lex, was trying to ply her with anything dangerous. There were many who would accuse the billionaire of such a thing, but not Chloe. The unlikely pair had become pretty good friends as they stood side by side against the common foe of his father, Lionel, to the point where Daddy Dearest was now in jail and Lex had pretty much saved Chloe's life by faking her death and keeping her in a safe house over what could easily have been a very dangerous Summer.

Now, back in Smallville, Chloe had got into the habit of returning the favour of regularly visiting Lex at the mansion, the way he had been her constant reminder of home each weekend at the safe house. Heaven only knew how they found so much to talk about, or what it was that held the two together as good friends, but something did, and Chloe wasn't about to start questioning it. She did however have more than one question about the drink she currently held in her hand.

"I have to say I was a little sceptical when I agreed to purchase the product" Lex smirked as he sat down in the chair opposite her, his own glass in his hand, "but given that the water is from a local source, and I'm all for supporting the local businesses..."

"Lex Luthor, friend to the common man" Chloe said, sarcasm lacing every word, which rather more amused Lex than offended him, as was her intention.

"I promise you, Chloe, it's just water" he told her, "I'm guessing the pink is some kind of marketing ploy, even if it is far too early for Valentines Day" he said, reaching behind the couch for the bottle the water had come in, "Here, see for yourself if you don't believe me" he said as he handed it to her.

Chloe looked quickly at the label that proclaimed the water was indeed locally sourced and completely natural. She felt a little silly as Lex stared at her with a smirk on his lips that she'd happily wipe off given half the chance. Putting the bottle on the table, she held her glass out to him as if to make a toast.

"I'm brave enough if you are" she said, returning his smile as he clinked his glass against hers.

"Cheers" he said as they both drank at last, and found that the substance they swallowed really must be just water, it certainly didn't taste any different to the regular kind.

Of course, these things could be deceiving in a town like Smallville, and they both should've known it. Chloe and Lex had both experienced enough strange happenings in the leafy little hamlet to know better than to trust anything or anyone that looked a little unusual. Of course, Chloe thought to herself, that was highly unfair. Lex himself didn't exactly look normal in the traditional sense, as there were very few young men his age with no hair at all. 'Not that he looks bad' she said to herself as he excused himself to go and take a call, and Chloe watched him walk out of the room, finding her eyes drawn to how good his butt looked in his tailored pants.

Realising what she was doing, Chloe turned her eyes away and concentrated on drinking her water, that seemed to be a much safer option. Of course her head just did a full circuit back around to weird things in Smallville, people affected by the meteors, Lex's baldness, and how damn sexy he really was. Chloe found herself a little taken aback by her own thoughts as she found herself wondering if Lex lost _all_ his hair in the meteor shower...

With her mind taking a trip down a very naked road, Chloe felt herself coming over hot and downed the rest of her water, getting up to fetch more immediately. She found her hands were shaking as she tried to pour herself another drink and felt stupid for it. How she'd come to get so hot and bothered over Lex Luthor when he wasn't even in the room was beyond her. Sure, they'd been spending a lot of time together lately, but for the most part it had all been very business-like. They could be considered friends of a kind, she supposed, but never more than that. Not that Chloe hadn't thought about it.

Despite the fact she was alone in the room, Chloe blushed as she recalled a couple of choice dreams she'd had lately about the young Mr Luthor. Still, she'd just put that down to her vivid imagination, needing a man more desperately than she thought, and not being blind or gay because, hell, you'd have to be one or the other to not notice how hot the bald billionaire was.

"Sorry about that" the man himself apologised as he returned to the room, finishing off the glass of water he'd taken with him before, "Now, where were we?" he asked, trying to recall as he came to stand beside Chloe and reached for the bottle to pour himself another drink.

He didn't notice she was making the same move he was, perhaps because he was oddly distracted by her eyes that hadn't left him since he entered the room. The result was that his fingers landed on hers rather than the glass of the water bottle, and the two of them reacted as if they'd been burnt, pulling their hands away at the same moment and sending the bottle crashing onto the hard floor, where it smashed into pieces.

Jumping back to avoid being hit by flying glass, Chloe found her back up against Lex who hadn't felt the need to move. His hands shot out to her arms to stop her falling and suddenly Chloe found herself in a position she didn't want to get out of. Lex was scarcely less eager to let go of the girl in his arms, feeling he'd waited too long to have her there somehow.

He wasn't so blind he'd never noticed what an attractive young woman she was. Clark may be immune to her beauty and brains, so caught up was he by the apparent wonder that was Lana Lang. Lex himself found the raven-haired girl to be little more than above-average in looks, and certainly lacking in too many other areas for him to have any serious interest in her. Chloe on the other hand was one young woman he found himself drawn too, at this moment more than any other, as she turned in his arms and gazed up at him with wide innocent eyes that held a fire the like of which he hadn't seen there or anywhere before.

"Lex..." she said softly, as his hands slid down her arms and landed at her waist, holding her body close to his own.

She licked her lips, anticipating his next move and was not disappointed as he dipped his head and covered her mouth with his own in a searing kiss.

* * *

Clark wasn't really all that worried when Chloe didn't answer her cell. There were a hundred reasonable explanations, of course. The phone could be in her purse on the other side of the room or even in a different room where she wouldn't hear it. She might have it on silent, or there might be some reason why she was ignoring the call. What worried Clark much more than Chloe not answering her cell was that Lex wasn't answering his either, and when he called the landline at the mansion he was told that Mr Luthor was 'currently unavailable' by some butler type with a stuffy tone of voice.

Clark checked his watch and realised it was now over half an hour since he first called Chloe. She had specified that time for him to call to see if she needed picking up from Lex's place yet. With her car in the shop, Clark had become her unofficial chauffeur, and though Lex had offered to ensure she got home safely in one of his many cars, she had insisted on arrival that Clark would come get her when she was ready to leave, since they had plans for later anyway.

Knowing the worse was prone to happening in Smallville, Clark decided to head over to the mansion anyway and see what was going on. Slipping past security without too much trouble using his super-speed, Clark was soon in the house and headed for Lex's office.

Ducking around a corner to avoid the staff, the farm boy checked the coast was clear and continued on down the hall. He felt better when he reached the door to Lex's office and heard laughter he knew to be Chloe's own. Feeling it unnecessary to x-ray through into room before entering, since all must be fine, Clark swung open the doors, and immediately wished he hadn't.

The sight that met young Clark Kent's eyes burnt far more than his heat vision ever had. Never had he imagined he would walk in on such a scene, and he almost would have preferred to find violence and carnage awaited him - at least he knew how to deal with that! This had him stuck to the spot and speechless as he stared across the room at his two friends who were, as far as he could tell, making out on the pool table?!

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To Be Continued...


	2. Chapter 2

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**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**

Chapter 2

Clark was nothing short of shocked as he stared at the bizarre scene before him. Chloe was sat on the edge of the pool table, shirt almost completely unbuttoned and hanging off one side of her body exposing her underwear. Her legs were wrapped around the waist of Lex, who seemed to be attached to Chloe's neck by the lips, causing the giggling and gasping coming from the blonde's own mouth. With eyes shut and hands travelling to every possible inappropriate place as far as Clark could tell, the pair were entirely oblivious to his presence, and fast running through bases that Clark had only ever dreamt of getting to with Lana or any girl!

"Chloe!" Clark yelled her name when his subtle throat clearing and such failed miserably the first three times.

She seemed to notice he was there then, one eye opening up and then the other, though she made no particularly urgent move to cover herself or anything.

"Lex, stop it!" she told him with a giggle, "You're embarrassing Clark!" she told him, completely brazen and unashamed as she and Lex finally disentangled themselves.

"Oh, hey Clark" Lex finally seemed to notice his friend was in the room, his presence having been completely ignored up to now, "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you come in"

"Well, I guess you were... distracted" his friend said awkwardly earning only a wicked smirk in response from Lex as Chloe hopped down off the pool table, pulling her shirt back around her body.

"I don't remember calling you" she said with an almost annoyed frown, fastening buttons down her front.

"You didn't" Clark confirmed, trying to ignore the fact that Lex's hands had slid around Chloe's waist pulling her back against him for reasons the farm boy would rather not get into, "I just, I thought I should come check you were okay, since it's getting late and all..." he said, realising there was little point since his friend was only listening to whatever Lex was whispering in her ear.

The look on both their faces suggested it was something dirty he was saying and Clark was only glad he had control over his gift of super-hearing! God only knew what was going on here, and how Chloe and Lex had gotten to this point of closeness. The last Clark knew, Chloe was still kind of hung up on him, and Lex had more statuesque brunettes in his little black book than anyone else, so the little blonde in his arms really didn't ought to be his type at all.

"Why do I feel like I'm missing a punch line?" he wondered aloud as the couple turned into each other and resumed kissing that was clearly going to head into something else if it wasn't stopped fast, "Okay, guys, this isn't a funny joke anymore" he said, walking over and grabbing Chloe's wrist and pulling her away.

"Easy, Clark" she laughed lightly, eyes dancing with fun as she was pulled gently away from Lex and spun into Clark's arms, not really by design but mostly because she just lost her balance, "Play your cards right, it could be your turn later" she said, eyebrow raised and a smirk on her lips worthy of the man she'd previously been kissing.

Said man was evidently not pleased at Chloe's remark to Clark, his gaze turning steely as she glanced back at him.

"That better be a joke, Chloe" he said seriously, but she was clearly unphased by his attitude as she strolled on back over to him and put her hands on his chest.

"As if I'd want any other guy when I have you" she said, gazing up at him, "My big, bad, billionaire man" she said in suitably sultry fashion, as one arm crept up around his neck, the other hand sliding in a distinctly southerly directional as Lex forgot to be mad at her.

He pulled her roughly against him, crashing his lips against her own once again, the two of them apparently either forgetting they had an audience in the form of Clark, or just not caring that he was staring still.

The poor farm boy felt completely bemused by the way his friends were acting, though his mind got a little distracted from figuring out an explanation as he realised how far this was going to go if he didn't stop it. The very last thing he needed to see was his two friends having sex and if the sound of zippers and fasteners being undone was anything to go by...

"Chloe!" he yelled, catching the attention of the blonde who looked entirely dazed by what had been happening a moment before, "We really have to leave" he said, turning his back as she disentangled herself from Lex to reveal he'd gotten a little further undressing her this time than the last.

"You're not seriously going to leave with him?" Lex asked as she made light work of refastening everything he'd undone, "Stay with me, Chloe" he urged her, reaching out for her again, but she backed up a step.

"You know I would if I could" she assured him, but the look on her face told him she couldn't or wouldn't anyway, "but I'll see you tomorrow, Lex, I promise" she said, planting a last long lingering kiss on his lips before turning to go, "Come on, Clark" she said, whacking him across the arm as she passed him, "You were in such a hurry to leave, let's go" she told him.

The boy looked back over his shoulder at Lex who seemed to be shooting daggers from his eyes as he stared back. Forcing a small smile, the billionaire still looked somewhat fierce to Clark as he spoke.

"Take care of my girl, Clark" he said, a particular emphasis on the word 'my' that was almost scary, even though Clark knew he himself was invulnerable to anything Lex or anyone might try to do to him.

"Of course" he nodded once, before following Chloe out of the office.

Alone in the room, Lex immediately felt so very alone and lost without Chloe by his side. It was crazy, surely, to feel her loss so keenly, but then each and every time she came and went from his house, he realised he'd felt it a little more strongly. Now they'd gotten closer, it only increased his want, his need for her. She said she'd be back tomorrow and he wouldn't doubt her word. Still, between then and now he would need to occupy his mind and body or he was going to go crazy just waiting for her return.

A little concentration was all that was required and he could smell her perfume, feel her touch, her lips on his... though it was a warm enough day outside, Lex suspected it wasn't that causing him to overheat! In a bid to keep control he forced his mind to think of other things as he reached for the pick-hued bottle of water underneath the bar, popped off the cap, and took a long drink.

* * *

Clark was almost glad that Chloe had decided to pump up the volume of the radio in his truck, if only because it meant they didn't have to talk. He honestly didn't know what to say to her about the whole making out with Lex thing, though he knew he ought to say something.

Glancing between her and the road every two minutes as he tried to come up with something, anything that wouldn't sound like an accusation or similar which only led to Chloe losing her temper.

"What, Clark?" she snapped, turning the radio down to almost nothing so they could talk, "Whatever it is you want to say would you please just spit it out because you're driving me crazy right now" she told him, staring at him with a semi-angry look until he pulled the truck over to the side of the road and put it in park.

"Chloe, how long have you and Lex been..." he began as he turned to face her and realised he still didn't know how to out this without embarrassing himself, "..dating?" he tried after a moments pause and wasn't sure how to take it as Chloe bust up laughing.

"We're not dating, Clark" she chuckled at the concept, causing Clark just a moments relief before she continued, "We just have this heat, y'know?" she smirked, the look far too dirty on the face of one that ought to be much more innocent to Clark's mind.

"No, I don't think I do know" he said awkwardly, "Chloe, you know Lex has been with a lot of women... I don't know if, well, are you sure you know what you're doing?" he said, pretty sure she didn't, and yet his friends had proven time and again how smart they were, even smarter than Clark himself, surely they weren't so dumb as to be doing this unless they were sure of themselves.

"God, Clark, would you grow up and join reality already?" Chloe rolled her eyes at his attitude, "Life is not a fairytale, and not all girls are pink princesses flitting off to France to find a new prince when the old one turns out to be a disappointment!" she snapped, clearly angry at having her relationship with Lex questioned, no matter what form it took.

The hurt on Clark's face was obvious as she looked over at him, and immediately Chloe regretted her hasrh words.

"Clark, I'm sorry" she said sincerely, the first words and look Clark had seen from her this past hour that looked genuine, "I don't know why I said that, I..."

"It's okay" he smiled bravely, "Let's just forget all this, go do something fun. Maybe a movie?" he suggested, putting the car into gear and setting off down the road towards town once again.

"Sounds good" Chloe agreed with a bright smile as she leant back in the passenger seat, a thought striking her, "But before we hit the movie theatre, could we stop off at the convenience store? I'm a little thirsty"

"Can't we just get a soda at the movies?" Clark asked a little puzzled by her request and it showed on his face as he glanced from the road to Chloe and back.

"I'm really in a water kind of a mood" was her response as she stared straight ahead through the windshield, a smile creeping over her lips as she let her mind wander a while...

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To Be Continued...


	3. Chapter 3

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**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**

Chapter 3

"What's up, Smallville?" Lois asked as he wandered into the Kent's house looking odd, "You look weird, even for you" she declared with a smirk, though Clark barely noticed her remark.

"Lois, have you noticed anything different about Chloe?" he asked her seriously as he slipped off his jacket and walked over to the couch on auto-pilot.

"Different, how?" she wanted to know, though honestly she couldn't think of any way at all in which her cousin could be described as different lately, she was just same-old Chloe as far a she could tell.

"Well, I don't know..." he lied, sitting down beside her, not really sure how best to broach the subject, "Kind of distracted?" he tried, since that was at least true.

All the way through the movie, Chloe was fidgety and unsettled, clearly wishing she was anywhere but there with Clark. She'd also drunk an awful lot of water, which seemed weird to him, since it was usually coffee his friend main-lined if anything.

"Chloe is probably caught up in one of her Torch stories or something" Lois waved away his concern with her hand as she concentrated on the TV show she was currently missing because of Clark Kent's crazy theories, "You know how she can get about those"

"Lois!" he snapped, a little annoyed that she was ignoring what he considered to be something of importance, as he got up and blocked her view of the TV, going so far as to switch it off when she tried to view it around his body.

"Geez, Smallville" she complained, "What is it, your time of the month or something?" she griped as he faced her, not caring about her complaints.

"This is serious" he said, looking overly-much into that emotion, "I think Chloe and Lex are... y'know, more than friends"

"Chloe Sullivan, my cousin" she said looking amused as she continued, "is dating Lex Luthor, bald billionaire extraordinaire?" she asked with a chuckle, "That's crazy, Clark"

"Oh, really?" he challenged, "Then why were they... making out when I went to go pick her up from the mansion?" he asked, feeling awkward just thinking about the situation really.

Lois was a little taken aback by that, it had to be said. She wasn't blind to the fact that Lex Luthor was attractive, in that bad-but-rich boy kind of way, and Chloe had talked about him a lot since they'd become good friends. Still, the idea of her little cousin making out with the guy out of nowhere seemed weird. She was of course not about to admit to Clark that he'd astounded her.

"Did you actually see making out Clark?" she challenge, "I know you farm types, you see a friendly hug and you think babies are gonna come out of it" she said smartly, much to Clark's annoyance.

"I know what I saw, Lois" he snapped, "Something weird is going on, Chloe wouldn't behave that way, even if Lex would" he said, considering that his best friend did have somewhat of a reputation where women were concerned, "Maybe what happened with Lionel and all has made Chloe, I don't know, lonely or scared, and it's coming out this way"

"In a need to make out with a billionaire?" Lois chuckled, though it wasn't such a crazy idea, after all stress and such made people behave oddly and Chloe had certainly had her fair share of that over the past few months.

She might see Lex as her saviour and throw herself at him, and Lois guessed he'd lap up the attention as any guy would. Of course, it was not good for either of them to be using the other that way, and the last thing Lois wanted was for her cousin to get hurt.

"You really want to make a joke out of this, Lois?" Clark challenged, "Because I thought you cared a little more about Chloe than that" he said angrily, hating that she could push his buttons as easily as she did.

Lois similarly despised the fact the Clark was so often right when they argued, and that he could make her so mad so fast. Somebody shouldn't have that affect on you unless you cared about them, and the last thing Lois Lane needed was to find herself falling for some farm boy from the middle of nowhere.

"Fine, have it your way, Smallville" she said, sighing as she got up from her seat and reached for her jacket, "Are you driving or am I?" she asked, knowing there would be no peace until she went over to Chloe's place and talked to her about this, and she didn't just mean peace from Clark either, the voice in the back of her head calling her a bad, uncaring cousin wasn't going to quit till she dealt with this either.

"I'll drive" Clark smiled, glad to have won the latest little battle between the two of them.

"Y'know, there'll probably be a totally reasonable explanation for all this" she said, as they headed out the front door, "I can't imagine she has any real feelings for the guy, but maybe she just needs a release, y'know?" she shrugged as they headed outside and Clark blushed even at the suggestion that the conversation they were having was about sex now.

"That still makes it a bad thing, Lois" he told her as he unlocked the truck and they climbed inside.

"You'd be amazed how good being bad can feel sometimes, Smallville" Lois said with a smirk that suggested she knew just exactly what she was talking about.

That only made Clark all the more embarrassed and glad he had to concentrate on the road and not the young woman beside him as he put the truck into gear and drove off into the night.

* * *

Chloe hung up the phone with an almost-wicked smirk on her face. Tonight had been so boring, out at the movies with Clark. Not that it was his fault, he was a good friend, at least some of the time, and she ought to appreciate that he wanted to hang out with her. Unfortunately there was one problem with Clark Kent, he wasn't Lex Luthor! Where one was a boy the other was all man, and that was what Chloe had come to realise she both wanted and needed in her life.

Lex had the ability to make her feel like a woman, more than that, a woman who was wanted, worthy of love, and sexy as hell. That was what she craved in her life, just somebody to want her as much as she wanted them, and Lex certainly seemed to. She'd waited too long for him to make a move, perhaps she ought to have made one herself before now, but that wasn't important. Everything changed today, and nothing would be the same again.

Friends was all well and good, but Chloe had friends, not a huge amount but enough. What she wanted now was Lex, and right in this moment, she wanted him so bad she couldn't think straight - hence the booty call, for want of a better phrase.

Pacing up and down the living room, Chloe rushed to the window the moment she heard the squeal of tyres on the drive. He had to have driven at break neck speed to get there so fast, and Chloe loved knowing he'd potentially risked his life just to get to her more quickly. Hurrying to the door she stopped herself before opening it. It wouldn't do to have him think she was too eager to see him, desperation was never a good look for any woman.

Taking a deep breath and trying to effect some self-control, Chloe opened the door to his impatient knock. Somehow she found that Lex had become even more attractive than her memory recalled in the space of time between leaving his house to go out with Clark and his arrival on her doorstep now.

Lex wasn't sure what was happening to him as he stood outside the door staring in at the young woman he had long since realised he was falling in love with. Today at the mansion had been a revelation, to realise that he had no reasons left to hide his feelings from her, and to have her reciprocate them so freely. He'd hated to let her leave with Clark and though he knew he ought to trust his good friend not to betray him by stealing his woman, it didn't stop the jealousy from bubbling inside him. That emotion was only outdone by the intense passion that he felt for Chloe.

Lex had known from the moment he met this extraordinary young woman that she was something special. Over the years as they'd got to know each other and become friends, his admiration for her had grown into something deeper and stronger, to the point where his need for her had almost over-taken him, made him take leave of all the good sense he ought to have.

Whilst Lex knew letting go and allowing himself to free fall could end so badly, the exhilaration of the ride was worth it, he was sure. He'd planned to play it cool when Chloe called but the very sound of her voice had been enough to spark off a fire inside him that would not be sated till he got to her.

Driving like a bat out of hell was Lex's usual mode of transportation but the whole world had been one big blur as he sped from the mansion to here. He spared no time to even think about what he was doing as he'd dashed to his car and rushed to get to this woman, the only one he had ever felt quite this strongly for.

"Hi" he greeted her simply, having no other words in his head to say and feeling wholly out of his depth because of it.

"Hi" she echoed his greeting, feeling suddenly awkward in spite of the way she'd been craving this man's presence for minutes that felt like hours.

"I'm glad you called" he told her then, leaning on the door jamb, "I didn't... "

"Enough talking" Chloe declared, interrupting the man that most people wouldn't dare to speak over, surprising the both of them as she grabbed him by the front of his expensive shirt and pulled him inside, crashing his lips onto hers.

The fire they had discovered between them at the mansion earlier today certainly hadn't died out in the interim. Absence made the heart grow fonder, but apparently it also made this unlikely couple grow hornier as they let their hands wander, fingers working fasteners and pulling at fabric, in a desperate need to get closer.

Eyes closed, hands engaged, and desperate not to let up on the kissing, it was hardly any wonder that neither Lex nor Chloe noticed the bump in the living room rug until Lex's foot caught on it, pitching him forward. In a last ditch attempt to save Chloe, he spun his body under hers to cushion her fall. They landed in a tangle of limbs, Chloe's hand reaching out to grab anything that might keep her from falling completely. All she actually managed to do was knock an abandoned can of soda from the coffee table, sending the left-over contents spilling all over both her and the man now beneath her.

As serious as the situation had been a moment before it turned ridiculous in an instant, Chloe starting to laugh and Lex followed suit because her giggling was just so infectious.

The sight of the two of them laid out on the floor, the young reporter atop the billionaire businessman, dripping with cola all down one side, it would've been crazy to anyone present, but nobody was there to know.

As the laughter eventually died and the passion between them ignited again, Chloe shifted on top of Lex as they kissed deeply, his want for her as evident as ever.

"We should probably get out of these wet clothes" he suggested with a sexy smirk in between kisses.

"Mmm" Chloe murmured in agreement against his lips, "Actually, this stuff is soaking right through everything" she said, disentangling herself a little from him as she ran a hand over his chest where his shirt was stuck to his skin by the sugary drink that'd spilled there, "It'd probably be easier to just... take a shower" she said, eyebrow raised suggestively to match her idea.

She took Lex's eagerness to get them both up off the carpet and through the door towards the stairs as a good sign, and ran giggling all the way as he chased her to the bathroom.

* * *

"Why'd I let you drag me over here, Smallville?" Lois complained as he parked up the truck outside Chloe's house.

Clark didn't answer her as he moved to get out of the truck, first spotting Lex's car across the street, and then that the front door was swinging open. That in itself was odd, as Chloe was particularly up on her security, especially since the whole thing with Lionel Luthor. He may be in jail now, but that didn't mean Chloe was safe.

"Lois, look!" he said, rushing over to the open door.

She followed at a reasonable pace and the two of them crashed into the house. Whilst Clark searched the living room and kitchen, Lois went straight for the stairs pretty sure she'd heard some noise coming from up there. It wasn't as if she had to be afraid of attackers and such, she could totally defend herself, and it kind of helped her nerves to know Clark was within yelling distance too, even if she would never admit it.

"Lois!" the man himself complained when he realised she'd gone up their alone.

Rushing up after her, the two of them arrived outside the bathroom door at the same moment, noting the sounds of crashing and banging beyond it.

"You ready?" Lois whispered to Clark, reaching for the doorknob.

"Lois, don't..." he started having x-rayed the door and knowing what they were going to find before she could see it.

Unfortunately, it was too late. The door swung open and Lois was stunned to see her cousin and the local billionaire, wrapped up in each others embrace, standing naked under a spray of hot water.

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To Be Continued...


	4. Chapter 4

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A/N: Hey, Chlex fans at , who knew? But its very cool to have you guys reading this, and Clois fans too, obviously. Thanx for your reviews. Here's more...

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(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 4

"I really don't see what any of this has to do with you, Clark" Lex said angrily as he was unceremoniously thrown into the living room of the Sullivan house, still attempting to button his shirt as he went and not getting very far with it.

"Chloe is my friend" was the farmboy's quick response, to which Lex had an equally fast response.

"So was I, once upon a time" he shot back, "It's a shame you didn't care so much about me when each of my romantic entanglements got out of hand"

"Lex, I always tried to help you, when you got into all kinds of trouble" Clark pointed out, "but something is not right here. You and Chloe, you're behaving like crazy people"

"Just because your relationship with Lana never had the passion and fire that I've found with Chloe, don't take your petty jealousy out on me" Lex told him angrily as he finished off buttoning his shirt and tucking it haphazardly into his pants.

He looked decidedly dishevelled and unkempt for a man who was usually so immaculate in his business suits complete with tie and matching shoes. Right now, he looked like he'd recently rolled out of bed having slept in the clothes he'd worn all day. Clark's mind look a detour to Lex spending the day in bed together with Chloe and he winced at the very idea of it.

"This is not about me, Lex" he said in answer to his old friends argument, "It's about Chloe, and how you're taking advantage of her"

"Did you ever consider for a moment, Clark, that I might be taking advantage of him" said a voice from the doorway and both men turned to see Chloe, dressed to kill in a top with plunging neckline and ridiculously tight pants as far as Clark could see, not that he objected to the view he was getting, but he had certain reservations about the way Lex was looking at his friend.

It was pointless really, to be mad at Lex for looking at Chloe when she was so provocatively dressed, after all, he'd apparently already seen her and enjoyed her in a state of complete undress!

"Chloe, I'm going to suggest the sweater again, even if you do shoot me down..." Lois said from behind her as the two came further into the room and Lex and Clark both noticeably stared at her blonde cousin.

As it was Chloe hadn't the time for Lois and her good sense, or Clark and the way he was looking at her actually. She only had eyes for her man, and he for her.

"Hey, you" she smiled as she walked on over to him, "Miss me?" she checked, in spite of the fact they'd been apart less than ten minutes, as she put her hands to his chest and leaned in close.

"More than you know" he told her, staring down into her eyes.

Pushing up onto her toes, Chloe pressed her lips against his, running her hands up his body and neck to the back of his head. His own hands started out at her back, sliding down to her butt and keeping a firm hold on her as Clark decided he really didn't want to be looking at this new and disturbing PDA.

Similarly, Lois was not thrilled by what she was seeing and refused to stand by and ignore it. Clark had been right, something very weird was going on here and whatever the reason was, she didn't care much. All Lois knew was she didn't want her little cousin getting played and/or hurt by Lex Luthor, and she saw no other likely outcome to the situation at hand.

"Okay, that's enough" she said, grabbing Chloe by the shoulder and yanking her back out of Lex's arms, "Let's try a few seconds without you two being all smoochy and grabby hands" she suggested as the pair looked decidedly miffed at the way they'd been parted.

"Chloe, come on, talk to us" Clark said, practically looking right through Lex, "What's going on?"

"You want me to draw you a diagram, Clark?" she asked, staring back at him with an expression that said she thought he was being a retard right now, "Maybe spell it out in sign language?" she tried, "Me and Lex, we're together now" she said, stretching out the syllables as if he was extremely stupid as she moved back towards her man and put a hand on his shoulder, "Deal with it" she suggested to both Clark and Lois alike, letting her hands slide down to join Lex's own and leading him towards the door.

"Chloe" Clark said in a warning tone as he stepped in their way.

"What's the real problem here, Clark?" she sighed torridly, "Jealous that I'm not all over you anymore?" she asked, as Lex smirked at her side, loving that he was getting one over on the so-called friend who always seemed too gifted with women, friends, and family, things he had little or no luck with at all in any real way.

"We're just concerned, Chloe" Lois chimed in from across the room as her cousin turned to look at her, "This isn't you"

"Or maybe you just don't know me as well as you think you do" she snapped, quite angry at their inability to just be happy for her now she'd found the man of her dreams.

"Let's go, Chloe" Lex suggested, tugging on her hand and encouraging her to follow him as he made to push past Clark in the doorway, "Get out of my way, Kent" he spat, quite willing to take this guy on no matter how tough he seemed or how good friends they used to be once.

"Not going to happen, Lex" he said defiantly, and that made the young Luthor snap.

Raising a fist to strike out at Clark, he was stunned when his hand was caught in the farmboy's own, and a strike to his bald head knocked him out cold in an instant.

"Lex!" Chloe exclaimed, clearly both shocked by what had happened and desolate to think that her man was badly hurt.

"Damn, Smallville!" Lois yelled at him a she joined her cousin on the carpet on the opposite side of the unconscious billionaire, "What did you do?"  
"I just... I thought it'd be easier if he was asleep?" he suggested, apparently having made his move on purpose.

In all honesty, he'd just lashed out to stop Lex and Chloe from escaping, and the fact he'd knocked his old fiend out had been a pure accident. It wasn't one he was sorry for though. Lex was fine, this he knew as he used his x-ray vision to check inside his head and found nothing serious. He'd just given him a hard enough knock to make him sleep a while, and that couldn't be a bad thing.

"Lex, baby, are you alright?" Chloe fussed over him, as Lois and Clark looked at each other.

'Baby?' she mouthed with a disgusted look on her face that was almost amusing to Clark, or would've been had he not also been similarly repulsed by Chloe's use of that particular term of endearment. It really didn't suit Lex, and certainly not when it came out of her mouth.

"He'll be fine, I swear" Clark told both her and Lois, "He'll just sleep a while is all"

"Something we should all probably be doing" the older girl suggested as she got Chloe up off the floor, mostly by force as the blonde was not forthcoming in her movements.

"I can put Lex in the truck, take him home, make sure he's okay" Clark said quickly as he crouched down on the floor and picked up the prone form of the billionaire.

"Why couldn't you just leave us alone, Clark?!" Chloe yelled at him with tears in her eyes as she watched her man be carried out of the door and away.

Lois found it took quite a bit of strength to restrain her cousin from running out the door after the two young men, and she was careful to avoid flying fists or feet.

"Chloe, will you please calm down?" she urged her, "I know Lex means something to you, and he's done a lot for you these few months but..."

"Means something to me?" Chloe echoed incredulously as she ripped herself free of her cousins grasp and her eyes glittered at her, "He means _everything_ to me!" she yelled, "But I guess you wouldn't understand that" she said with a shake of her head, sending tears rolling down her cheeks as she pushed past Lois and ran up the stairs to her room, slamming the door when she got inside.

Lois was stunned by the whole ordeal. One thing was for sure, Chloe was not acting like her usual self. She hated to admit Clark was right, but normal behaviour this was not. She may have accepted that Chloe wanted to date Lex Luthor, maybe, just about, but the way they were all over each other, making out, even showering together, that was a leap too far!

Sure Chloe wasn't the pure as snow little virgin that she might be, but she did not act like this. This was beyond even anything Lois had gotten up to, doing all this stuff with some guy who was entirely unsuitable, even in front of friends and family. It was just wrong, and Lois didn't like it at all.

Right now there would be little or no point trying to get any sense out of Chloe. It was late and she was upset, plus Lois herself was angry and would no doubt end up saying something she shouldn't. It was all best left til the morning, when Lois hoped her cousin might see the world more clearly and in a way where Lex Luthor was not the centre of everything.

Taking out her cell, Lois made quick work of leaving a brief message on the Kents machine, saying she was staying over with Chloe tonight as Gabe was out of town. That was at least true, though it wasn't the whole truth. That would come out later, but only if it really had to. Lois could use as few people as possible knowing her cousin was possibly going nuts, especially in this new and kind of slutty way!

* * *

Clark had gotten into the Luthor Mansion with ease, past security and right up to Lex's bedroom without anyone suspecting he'd even been there, not least with an unconscious billionaire in his arms. Depositing his old friend in his bed, he super-sped back down to the office where he'd first seen Lex and Chloe getting up close and personal. Wincing at the memory of the scene, Clark was sure he'd ever view the pool table in quite the same way again and certainly would not want to play a round on it!

He began scanning the room for clues, first with his naked eyes and then with x-ray vision. It had become clear to Clark at Chloe's house earlier that this was way too out of hand for just a stupid mistake of a fling between two of his friends. Chloe wasn't so dumb to think getting this close to Lex was a good idea, even if she had been through some trauma lately and he'd been playing her knight in shining armour.

As much as their friendship had fallen apart lately, Clark couldn't really believe that Lex would ordinarily be the kind of man to take advatage of a lonely and mixed up girl who was barely legal either. This was Smallville, 'land of the weird, home of strange' as Chloe had once said, and Clark wouldn't be at all surprised if the new-found passion between the unlikely couple was spawned from something decidedly 'wall of weird' worthy.

Spotting something on the floor, Clark hurried over to the space behind the couch and bent down to get a better view of a broken bottle and a pool of liquid it used to hold. It looked and smelled like water as far as he could tell, though there was a distinctly pink hue to the stuff. Underneath the bar beside him, Clark found three empty bottles all the same as the one smashed on the tiled floor and that didn't seem good at all.

* * *

Lois woke with a start to the sound of clattering crockery. It took her a moment to get her bearings and remember where she was, under a blanket on the couch at Chloe's house. The noise was definitely coming from the direction of the kitchen, though no light showed under the door. It was most likely Chloe sneaking around, but just in case, Lois picked up a vase from the mantle and edged into the kitchen, flipping on the light last minute and making her cousin almost jump out of her skin.

"Chloe! What are you doing up so late? You scared the crap out of me!" Lois complained, as she put the vase down on the counter and moved over to where the blonde had just tipped over a bottle of water which thankful hadn't smashed but spectacularly spilled everywhere.

"I was thirsty is all" she said, reaching to retrieve the bottle and save the remaining

contents before it was all lost.

The glass forgotten, Chloe put the bottle to her lips and gulped down what remained of the pink-hued liquid like her life depended on it. Lois looked on in astonishment as the bottle was drained and as Chloe placed the now empty receptacle back on the counter and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, it was clear said hand was shaking.

"Are you okay, Chlo?" Lois checked, noticing she also looked a little pale.

"I'm fine" she said, "Fine" she repeated as she turned and headed back out the kitchen and up the stairs back to bed, calling a cheery 'goodnight' over her shoulder.

Alone in the kitchen, Lois looked down at the puddle she'd half mopped up with paper towels. Something was weird and she wondered if it had something to do with the water as she picked up the bottle and read the back. According to the label it was pure water, straight out of a recently discovered spring on the outskirts of Smallville. There shouldn't be anything wrong with it, not as far as Lois could see anyway. Putting two fingers into the pool of pink on the counter top, she brought it to her nose first for a sniff and then placed the droplets on her tongue.

Tasted of the nothingness of water as far as Lois could tell and she shook her head as she realised how crazy she was being. Whatever was wrong with Chloe, it wasn't water causing it. Drugs seemed unlikely, even alcohol seemed unlikely, but she'd worry about it in the morning. Right now she needed to clean up this mess and get some sleep, just like Chloe hopefully was now.

Of course, Lois had no idea what a surprise she was in for, when she closed her eyes tonight...

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To Be Continued...


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N : Thanx for the reviews! :) So, that Clois some of you have been waiting for, that starts here, and of course the Chlex continues in its hot and heavy state... ;-)**

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**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**

Chapter 5

When Lois walked into the barn, she expected to find Clark there. What she hadn't banked on was his state of undress. Clearly his work had made him hot, oh so very hot, she noticed as he stood there shirtless and glistening with sweat.

"Wow" she said breathlessly, hardly aware she'd made a sound and highly embarrassed that he'd apparently noticed as he turned to look at her.

"Like what you see, huh?" he asked her with a cocky smirk that wouldn't usually be found on the face of the innocent farm boy.

"That all depends" she said, striking a pose against the wall, "What can you do with it?" she asked with a quirk of her eyebrow as Clark strode purposefully towards her.

His hands shot out, landing either side of her head as he leaned in close.

"Why don't I show you?" he whispered in her ear, lips at her neck and hands on her body in a second.

Lois lost all coherent thought as she moved to put her lips to Clark's own. Deep and passionate kisses led to moaning, and hands sought out flesh as the couple slid down to the ground. Pulling at clothes, only one thing on their mind, Lois was lost in the moment as Clark rolled them both over and...

"Ouch!" Lois complained as she landed with a thud on the thinly carpeted living room floor of her cousin's house.

She'd fallen off the couch in her sleep apparently, meaning that weird fantasy she'd been having was a dream. Lois' eyes went comically wide as she stared up at the ceiling, one hand going absently to her head that she had bumped on the way down. Why she had been having an erotic dream about Clark Kent, well, Lois wasn't sure she wanted to know! Their literal roll in the hay was something she'd rather forget than dwell on, but Lois couldn't imagine it would be easy to dismiss, as she got to her feet and dusted herself down.

God, what that guy could do with his lips and hands. Of course it was just a dream, a figment of her imagination. Knowing Smallville as she did, Lois was certain he wouldn't know what to do with a woman if she offered him the chance but that was hardly the point. Clearly, she'd been exposed to far too much intimacy via Chloe and Lex without getting any of her own action, plus she'd been spending a little too much time with Clark.

"And I'm clearly going crazy" Lois said to herself as she got her bearings and went for the stairs, "Speaking of crazy..." she said to herself, heading on up to Chloe's room.

With a little luck, her cousin was going to be a feeling more sane today, at least able to hold a conversation without losing it completely, and going nutso over Lex Luthor. Lois didn't have a problem with the bald billionaire per se, but she did have a serious issue with said man taking advantage of her cousin at a difficult time in her life.

"Chloe?" she said as she got to her door and knocked lightly, "Hey, cuz. Rise and shine, it's..." she said as she pushed the door open and immediately felt sick when she realised the room was empty, "It's not good that you're gone already" she said, not the original ending for her sentence, but true nonetheless.

Seeing the window wide open, the curtains blowing like crazy through the gap, Lois realised just exactly what had happened. Turning herself around she pelted down the stairs and grabbed up the phone, dialling the Kents number via the speed-dial she was so grateful for.

"Come on, come on" she said as the phone rang and rang some more.

* * *

Lex was having a beautiful dream, at least he thought it was a dream, until he opened up his eyes to joyfully realise his mistake. Chloe really was here, her lips on his, her body laid out on top of his own as she brought him out of his deep slumber in the most wonderful way possibly.

"Hey" she smiled against his lips as he opened his eyes and looked up at her, "Look who's... up" she giggled, as he wrapped his arms around her, keeping her close as his tongue invaded her mouth.

Rolling them both over so she was beneath him seemed like a good idea, until Lex realised it'd made his head spin, and not in the good way. His attention was taken from Chloe and the way she was wriggling beneath him as the throbbing got worse and he turned onto his back beside her.

"Something wrong?" she checked, pushing herself onto her side and propping up her head on her hand.

"I have a headache, that's all" he told her, pinching the bridge of his nose, "It'll pass"

"And here was me thinking that was a woman's excuse not to..." Chloe said with an eyeroll as she walked her fingers across his chest, "I missed you" she told him, planting kisses his flesh.

"I missed you too" he promised her, pulling her up beside him and capturing her mouth once again, "You have no idea how much" he breathed, when they were forced to part for air.

"I'm so sorry for what Clark did to you" Chloe said solemnly as they lay close together, wrapped in each others arms, as if they feared that letting go would be the death of them.

"It wasn't your fault" he promised her with a smile, pushing her hair off her face, "and its not important, we'll deal with Clark and your cousin and everybody else later" he told her, "All that matters now is that you're here"

"Its the only place I want to be" she told him, kissing him soundly on the lips.

When she pulled back to look at him he had the strangest look on his face. If she were less of a cynic she'd say it was a look of love, and yet she couldn't believe he really felt that way about her. Every guy she ever fell for, they didn't feel the same. She was a good friend, or good for something else, they thought. Not one amongst them loved her like they should.

"Um, are you thirsty? I'm thirsty" she said, feeling a little awkward suddenly as she rolled herself off the bed.

Retrieving the bottle of water and two glasses she'd grab from the office on her way up, Chloe poured out the pink liquid, carefully getting back into position next to Lex. she handed him the second glass and clinked hers against it, forcing a smile as she said 'cheers'.

"You know, I had a dream last night" Lex told her with a smile as he mimicked her pose, propped up on one elbow, and they both drank.

"Was I in it?" she asked with a shy look, momentary awkwardness forgotten as she finished off her glass of water.

She hadn't been expecting him to continue looking so seriously at her, or to put his glass to one side and take hold of her hand the way he did.

"Chloe, you are it" he told her seriously, "Somehow you've become my dream, my world, my life, and everything I ever wanted" he said, staring into her eyes, "I love you" he admitted at last, and Chloe almost burst with the joy of the moment.

Emotion bubbled up inside the little blonde, to such a degree it was almost too much to bear as she reached out for him and crushed her lips to his.

"Lex" she breathed when they parted a moment later, "I love you too" she swore, wanting to say it so many times before, but never daring to until he spoke the words first.

She'd just been so afraid of being shot down, of having her heart-broken again and by someone so very important to her. So many crushes had come and gone before, including Clark and others. This was real, adult, true and honest love as far as Chloe could tell. Passion and lust existed still, and she burned for Lex's touch as much as she ever had, but her heart was to be his too, not just her body. She wanted him but also cared for him. This was love, and she knew now that he felt the same.

What Chloe didn't realise was just how strongly Lex was feeling that love between them. He knew he wanted her, he'd known that for a long time, and he cared for her welfare and such. Lex just hadn't been ready for that feeling of falling from eight miles high into a world of pink hearts and candlelight. Love had got a hold of him, and as scary a concept as that ought to be, Lex didn't want it, or Chloe, to ever let him go.

The blonde in question made a definite sound of disappointment at the loss of contact, as Lex disentangled his body from hers, going so far as to get up from the bed. When Chloe moved to follow he pointed a finger at her.

"No, you stay there" he said with a smile that turned into a wicked smirk and a wink, as he added, "Keep it warm for me"

"Don't take too long" Chloe mirrored his own look as she stretched out like a cat on his bed, making Lex wonder why he was walking away from her at all.

Still, he had a plan, and it was one she was sure to like. After that, they had all day to take their pleasure, and he intended to do that, without question.

* * *

"I thought I heard the phone?" Clark yawned as he descended the stairs in just his shorts and T-shirt, rubbing the back of his neck as he came.

"You did" Jonathan agreed with him, "but I was outside and your mother was in the bathroom so nobody got to it before it stopped"  
"And whoever it was didn't bother to leave a message" Martha chimed in as she went into the kitchen to make breakfast, "Oh, Jonathan, is this yours?" she frowned as her husband and son followed her and she gestured to the bottle on the counter.

"No, that's mine" Clark told her as his parents eyed the bottle of what appeared to be pink water, "Well, actually I got it from Lex's bar..."

"Son, if this some kind of alcohol..." Jonathan began but stopped when his son waved a hand and shook his head at the same time, denying the charge.

"It's not" he told them honestly, "At least, its not supposed to be" he said, causing both his parents to looked questioningly at him.

"Honey, is there something you need to talk about?" Martha asked him as they all took a seat and Clark squirmed awkwardly.

"It started yesterday, when I went over to the mansion to pick up Chloe" he explained from the beginning, telling his parents just exactly the position he'd found his friends in and blushing as he did so.

Martha's eyes went wide and Jonathan's eyes hardened as they were told of the apparently sexual relationship between Chloe and Lex, Clark's mother stunned by the behaviour of both young people, and his father convinced from the get go that the bald billionaire was taking advantage somehow.

"Somebody needs to teach that young man a thing or two about decency" Jonathan said angrily when he thought Clark's story was over.

"Dad, I don't think it's Lex's fault" he said quickly, as Martha nodded her head.

"You know, Clark might be right" she agreed, "Chloe is a young woman now, practically eighteen, and she's not exactly the type to just be lead astray..."  
"She's been through a lot, Martha" her husband reminded her, "And Lex Luthor can be a very persuasive young man"

"Would you guys please listen for a second" Clark cut in as carefully as he could, mindful of being disrespectful to his parents, "I think there is something weird about this water" he told them, though his father still looked dubious.

"Son, not everything that happens in Smallville has to do with the meteors" Jonathan sighed, "Strange things, bad things, they happen every day all over the world" he reminded him, but Clark looked undeterred from his theory.

"I know that, Dad" he agreed, "but this time I think I'm right. This bottle was in Lex's bar, with three other's that were empty, and a fourth smashed on the floor" he explained, getting up and walking over to Jonathan, "Yesterday when I was out with Chloe, we stopped off at the store and she bought a six pack of the same stuff. She drank four before I even got her home after the movie"

"That's a lot to drink of anything, even water" Martha frowned as her husband picked the bottle from Clark's hand and read the label.

"According to this label, that's all this is" he said, "Just water"

"Then why is it pink?" Clark asked him, "Unless its been exposed to..."  
"Red meteor rocks" his father nodded in understanding as he finished the sentence for him.

"Maybe its altering Chloe and Lex's behaviour" Martha suggested as she too got up from her seat and walked over to join her husband and son, "After all, that's the effect it has on Clark"

He opened his mouth to agree that was the theory he'd come up with too, but never got a chance to speak. A screech of tyres outside startled the whole Kent family, and then the door suddenly swung open. Lois practically fell into the house, breathing heavily. Clearly, she'd been in a hurry with both her driving and a little running.

"Lois, honey, what's wrong?" Martha asked worriedly.

"It's Chloe" she said, breathing in a lungful of air she desperately needed, "She's gone"

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To Be Continued...


	6. Chapter 6

****

A/N: Thanx for the reviewage. Now brace yourself for crazy Clois and sexy Chlex!

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(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 6

The truck sped down the road, carrying Clark and Lois towards the Luthor Mansion. Clark didn't usually drive quite as erratically as he was right now, but that was mostly down to the frustration that Lois was getting in his way. Without her around, he could have super-sped to Lex's place in the half the time, he could've been there by now, ensuring Chloe was okay and that his friends were behaving normally, though he doubted they would be.

Assuming both Chloe and Lex had a supply of the pink water which was the most likely cause of their strange behaviour, there was no telling what they were up to. Clark could imagine if he tried, but he'd honestly rather not. Nobody wanted to imagine their best friends making out or worse, and for the farm boy who was rather shy about this stuff at the best of times it was extremely disturbing. Having caught the live show twice now, he only hoped he wouldn't be exposed to a third showing when they arrived at the mansion, though it might be too much to hope for.

"I can't believe this is happening" Lois said suddenly, "Y'know, it was always me they thought would go off the rails, even I thought it'd be me before it was Chloe" she shook her head, "Of course, my sister Lucy is worse. Chloe was just so sensible, so... I don't know, not the kind of girl to think of nothing but throwing herself at some bald billionaire type like that, I don't get it"

"It's not like either of them are exactly acting like themselves" Clark pointed out, reaching down to change gear, at which point Lois jumped violently.

"Hey!" she yelped, as if he'd done something awful, when in fact he hadn't even touched her.

"What is wrong with you?" he asked, glancing her way then back at the road.

"Nothing" Lois said quickly, keeping her eyes straight ahead as she fought not to blush.

The only reason she had for making such a fuss was that dream she had last night, and there was no way in hell she was about to tell Smallville about that. He'd either get even more embarrassed than she was or he'd be a smug guy about it. It was stupid, she didn't even feel that way about Clark. It was just her mind playing tricks, it had to be, mixing up some of the things she'd seen happening between her cousin and Lex Luthor, with the guy she'd obviously been spending way too much time with of late.

Lois decided there and then she needed to start dating again. Any guy would do, any guy that wasn't Clark Kent. It'd been too long, that much was obvious, if she was dreaming about getting it on with the farm boy! Not that he was completely unattractive of course, she wasn't blind, and she'd certainly got a good view of everything he had that first day they met!

'Oh, yeah. Good one, Lois' she thought, turning herself further around to look out the passenger window and trying to breath evenly, 'That's right, think about naked Clark, that won't give you flashbacks to last night' said her own voice inside her head as she willed the car to get to the mansion just a little bit faster. Anything to get out of this hot and stuffy confined space with this particular guy!

Reaching into her bag, Lois pulled out a bottle of water and twisted off the top, taking a long drink. Something certainly needed to cool her down, and besides drinking was a better distraction than staring out of a window at one field after another that all looked the same.

"Lois, what are you doing?" Clark said suddenly when she was mid-sip, making her spit some.

"Geez, Smallville" she complained as she wiped her chin with the back of her hand, "It's just water and... and now it's all over me!" she said angrily as she grabbed some tissue from her bag and tried to soak up the spillage down the front of her shirt.

"It's not just water" Clark said worriedly as he glanced between her and the road, "That stuff is what Chloe and Lex have been drinking. We think it's what's making them act so weird" he explained, as Lois laughed off his concern.

"You worry too much" she said, putting the cap back on the bottle anyway, if only to ease the panicked expression on his face, "There, all safe and sound" she said as she put the bottle back into her bag and relaxed back into the seat.

"You feel okay?" he checked after a moment, when no adverse effects seemed to present themselves - maybe she hadn't drunk enough for it to make her act so crazy like Chloe and Lex who had consumed several bottles of the weird pink water by now.

"Sure, yeah" Lois nodded, turning her head to one-side on the head rest and just watching Clark drive.

He had good strong arms, she noticed, and big hands too. She knew there were big feet to match down there, oh yeah, Clark Kent had the whole matching set like that, Lois smiled to herself as she remembered their first meeting again. Then there was that time in the Kents bathroom when he'd been all skittish about them being alone and naked together. She giggled then as she thought about it, how shy and delicate he was for such a strapping young man. Lois wondered what he might be like if she could just unlock the wild side of Clark that just had to be in there somewhere. Everybody had one, no matter how deep it was buried, and Smallville had shown his off in her dream last night. In real life it could only feel even better than her psyche had shown.

"What's so funny?" Clark asked her, snapping Lois from deep thought and making her aware of her own laughter.

"I don't know, Smallville" she said with a smile as her giggling ceased on her lips, "I was just thinking, maybe Chloe and Lex have the right idea" she said as she unbuckled her seat-belt and scooched closer to him, "Maybe we're the ones who have it all wrong, trying to make them stay apart. Y'know sometimes it feels good just to let go" she whispered in his ear, one hand at his shoulder and the other creeping south as Clark fought to keep the truck on the road, not an easy task with her full female form pressed up against his side.

"Lois, cut it out" he said swallowing hard.

He didn't want to react to her, she was Lois after all, she was bossy and bitchy and he hated her, but at the end of the day she was a sexy young woman and super abilities notwithstanding he was just a man. None of his special skills centred around keeping control in this kind of situation, and it took every ounce of concentration he could find to stop him crashing the car as Lois started to kiss his neck, and pushed herself into his lap.

Distraction already an issue, Lois obscured Clark's view at just the wrong moment. He knew there was another truck headed for them but couldn't tell which way to go to avoid it. Swerving and praying he'd made the right choice, the truck spun off the road and crashed into a ditch with a thud.

"Wow" Lois gasped as they came to a shuddering halt in the bushes by the side of the road, "That was amazing!" she said, laughter in her voice, though Clark looked far from amused.

Before he had a chance to get his bearings and/or throw Lois off him, berating her for her stupidity, she was all over him. Crushing her lips to his, Lois made light work of getting Clark to forget all about being angry or upset at her. Hell, he forgot what day of the week it was for a full minute, and by the time he opened his eyes from the searing kiss, he didn't care about anything anymore. Overtaken by passion and lust, Lois barely noticed the red that sparkled in Clark's eyes before he roughly pulled her to him again and kissed her long and hard.

* * *

Chloe was just starting to get bored. She'd had several fantasies about being in Lex's bedroom, but lying on his bed alone staring at the ceiling was not one of the best. It couldn't be more than ten minutes since he'd disappeared, saying he'd be right back with a surprise for her. The only surprise Chloe really wanted from his right now was the naked kind, and fast. She feared another interruption, since that was all they seem to have got lately. The making out was fun, but she wanted more, wanted to seal the deal on this thing between her and Lex. As close as they'd gotten to it, somebody was always there to mess things up, to interrupt just before the perfect moment arrived.

With a sigh, Chloe turned her head and checked the clock on the table beside the bed. Lex was taking too long, she was getting bored and agitated... and thirsty, she realised as she reached for the bottle of water she spotted by the bedside lamp. Yeah, that helped, it at least dealt with one thirst she was having. The other would only be sated when Lex got his cute ass back in there.

As if he'd heard her thoughts, the man in question re-entered the bedroom and in a moment, Chloe was up off the bed and in his arms.

"What took you so long?" she complained, crashing her lips onto his before he had any kind of chance to answer her question.

Evidently it wasn't words Chloe wanted, and usually Lex would be only to happy to be the action man for any beautiful woman such as this. Unfortunately, there were some words that needed to be said, something that needed to be done before anything else happened between the two of them. This was too important to be left any longer, and Lex wasn't about to let this moment pass him by.

"Chloe" he breathed her name as he forced them apart a moment, "I have to talk to you" he told her, though she was barely listening as her arms held tight around his neck and she pulled him back with her towards the bed, trying to kiss him again.

"Talk later" she insisted, breathing heavily, "Busy now" she said seriously, as the back of her legs hit the end of the bed.

Quite honestly, Lex considered giving up altogether and just surrendering to her and his own want for the same thing she craved. Unfortunately, he knew if he didn't do this right he would live to regret it. He loved Chloe far too much to just let her be another meaningless fling. Still, even as all this ran through his head, he failed to disentangle himself from her body as she deliberately fell back onto the matress, pulling him down on top of her, her legs wrapping round his body.

"This is important" Lex managed to tell her, brain fighting against body as he pulled back from her and looked her in the eyes, "Chloe, I have to say this now" he said seriously, making her worry just a little as she nodded in understanding and fought to calm herself as he moved off her and she sat herself up on the edge of the bed.

When both of them regained breath in the bodies and a focus on reality, Lex sat down beside her and took her hand in his, looking too serious still.

"Lex, you're scaring me" she admitted, "I thought we were having fun, and that you wanted me..."  
"Chloe, I never wanted anyone more" he promised her, as he reached out to straighten her hair that had got messed up before, "That's why I need to say this... Chloe, I love you" he told her, forehead leaning against her own, "You are the most incredible woman I ever met in my whole life, and I want things to be right with us"

"It is right, Lex" she assured him, her hand going to his cheek, "We love each other, what could be more right than that?" she asked in earnest.

"Nothing" he smiled, "but it matters a lot to me that you understand. I don't just want another notch on my bedpost, I don't even want a girlfriend to hang off my arm for a few months and then disappear when my back is turned" he explained, "Chloe, I want to be with you for the rest of my life"

"Lex, what are you saying?" she asked, reeling back just a little.

She thought she knew what he was implying, but it seemed insane to even think it. She understood that he wanted her, even that he loved her, but the rest of their lives, a happily ever after, it was more than she ever dared hope for.

Chloe had started listening to Lex, hating the fear that built in the pit of her stomach like a stone. She'd been so sure he was going to pull some anti-commitment crap on her, tell her that if they slept together, it didn't have to mean anything or whatever. She really hadn't expected this, at least, what she thought this was, and became sure of as Lex dropped onto one knee on the carpet before her.

"Chloe Sullivan" he said, with a smile on his face as he produced a box from his pocket and opened it up, holding it out for her to see, "Will you marry me?"

"Oh my God" she gasped with tears in her eyes that she was hardly aware of, "Yes!" she practically screamed, she was so definite in her response, as Lex wasted no time in getting the ring on her finger and then kissing her thoroughly.

Chloe felt like she was living a dream as her brain tried to process all that had happened these last couple of days. From friends to engaged so fast, it was enough to make a girls head spin, and as for what Lex was doing to her body right now, well, that was more than her mind could take as she felt herself start to lose control when his lips moved down her neck and collar bone, fingers creeping inside her clothes. God, this might be as good as she'd ever felt in her life, and yet, something stopped her from completely enjoying this moment. It could be more perfect, she realised, as the solitaire diamond on her finger caught the light and glinted so bright it near blinded her.

"Lex" she gasped, trying to get his attention, but failing miserably as her reasonably thought out words became lost in a moan she couldn't control, "Lex, don't" she told him, only slightly more coherently, though he clearly heard her as he reluctantly gave up his assault on her senses and moved to meet her eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked her, a little afraid he'd hurt her or that maybe that she'd changed her mind.

"Nothing" she promised him, "but... I can't" she shook her head slightly, almost killing Lex on the inside as she looked at him like that, all innocent and sweet.

He couldn't hurt her, he'd never force her, but he was desperately disappointed about this, and in all kinds of pain as he rolled off and laid down beside her, staring at the ceiling. Trying to regain some control over his body wasn't exactly easy, and Chloe knew she'd hurt him both inside and out as she looked over at him.

"It's not that I don't want to, Lex" she promised him, "but you were right with what you said, we should do this right. We owe it to this love between us to treat it well. That's why I think maybe we should wait, until we're married" she explained, earning a look both stunned and entirely underwhelmed from her future husband as he turned his head to look at her.

"Chloe" he said, clearly unimpressed, "If you really want to wait, well, you know I'd do anything you want but... do you know how long it takes to organise a wedding?" he checked, wondering if she could really be thinking clearly on this.

He wasn't sure he could wait a day to be with her, nevermind weeks or even months! The way she'd been with him the past couple of days made him wonder if she'd ever hold out that long either, she was certainly as enthusatisc as he was up to a moment ago.

"It doesn't have to take long" she said as she propped herself up on her elbow, the fingers of her left hand drawing patterns on his bare chest where his shirt had long since been torn open, "I mean, you have a jet, right?" she smirked wickedly at him, "How many hours will it take to get us to Vegas?"

Realising she'd been messing with him, Lex didn't know whether to be mad or proud or the future Mrs Luthor. Mostly he was just stunned that his proposal had been met so very favourably that Chloe seemed to want to be married before the day was done!

"You're serious?" he checked, his smirk starting to match her own as she pushed herself onto top of him, straddling his hips.

"What do you think?" she asked, as she leaned down over him, crushing her lips against his and kissing him deeply.

Putting his arms tight around her, Lex sat up suddenly, making her squeal as she feared toppling off the bed.

"I think" he said, punctuating every couple of words with kisses as he held her in his lap, "You... will make... an excellent... Luthor"

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To Be Continued...


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hey guys, I'm back! Sorry to have left you hanging so long... you probably haven't even missed me, but whatever! Thanx for the reviews from before - here's a new chapter for you...**

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**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**

Chapter 7

It wasn't so weird to drive down a lonely road in Smallville and see a car in a ditch - so many crashes seemed to occur there. Similarly, it wasn't all that rare to find two young people in that car, making out like it was going out of style. Perhaps the only thing that might've been surprising or even shocking to any passers-by on the road to Smallville today was the identity of the two people half-way to happy land in this particular truck by the side of the road.

It wasn't that Clark and Lois hated each other, just that most of the time they... well, hated each other. Yet, here they were, like two young lovers, all over each other in the limited space of the front of the Kent family vehicle. Forgotten was their mission to save Chloe, and possibly Lex, from whatever fate befell them. Everything was a blur as they got lost in a moment that very nearly went too far. In fact, Lois had made light work of unbuttoning Clark's usual plaid shirt and was just working on his belt buckle when the pair of them seemed to come to their senses at the same moment.

Reeling back, Lois hit her head on the roof of the truck as she tried to figure out how the hell she'd ended up in Clark's lap, minus her jacket, and with his hand still somewhere inside her top. Realising what he'd been doing, Clark removed his hand, going red as a tomato as he blinked hard and cleared his vision that had been decidedly red-tinged these past few minutes.

"What the hell, Smallville?!" Lois yelled as she got herself back into the passenger seat, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand.

"Hey, you were the one, you jumped on me!" he argued when he realised she was going to try and make this all his fault.

Lois didn't know how to argue with that as she recalled the manoeuvre she'd made all too clearly. She really had come on to Clark, she recalled with some horror, as she grabbed up her jacket and pulled it back on. Beside her, Clark re-fastened his belt and started re-buttoning his shirt too, the pair of them hardly able to look at each other. The worst of it for Lois was the realisation that that dream she'd had last night was much less fantasy than she'd originally guessed. Man, a guy like Clark Kent had no business being able to kiss like that! Lois was only grateful they'd come to their senses before things went any further. She wasn't so naive she didn't know where they were headed, and for the life of her she couldn't figure out what had started all this.

"Okay" she said then, eyes averted still as she couldn't bear to meet his, "Clearly we went a little crazy, entered the Twilight Zone, or whatever" she said, with a shake of her head.

"I don't think that was it, Lois" Clark told her, also trying to avoid looking her way, as he realised five minutes with her had been hotter than anything he'd ever had with Lana or anyone, "I think it was the water" he told her as she dared to glance his way a moment.

It seemed ridiculous, Lois thought as she retrieved her bag from the foot well and pulled out the bottle she'd been drinking from before, and yet any other explanation as to why she felt the need to straddle Clark Kent just made her all the more uncomfortable with herself right now. Of course, there was one problem with his theory, Lois realised, and dared to turn and look at the young man beside her as he fired up the truck and tried to figure out how to get them back on the road.

"Hold on a second" she shook her head, "I know I drank this" she admitted, "but what about you, Smallville? You were the one telling me to stop drinking this stuff because you think it's what's making Chloe and Lex crazy" she pointed out, "I can't think you drank any to make you go all naughty seduction on me" she said, clearly getting over her embarrassment much faster than Clark could as he continued to blush bright red.

"I didn't exactly get a lot of choice on what was getting in my mouth" he snapped, though the very memory of her tongue in his mouth made him stall the truck's engine.

"Don't knock it, Smallville" Lois scoffed, "That was probably the closest you're ever going to get to third base in the whole of your dumb life" she snapped, not really angry at him so much as at herself.

Sure, it might be the water's fault she'd wanted to jump on Clark, and maybe even that she dreamt about him last night, but it was all down to Lois that she enjoyed it, and that even now she couldn't stop the tingling sensations running around her body, the craving deep inside that wanted more of him.

"This is stupid" Clark said, slamming his hand angrily against the steering wheel as he fought to get the damn truck moving again, "None of this is important right now, what's important is Chloe" he said definitely as he forced the vehicle up onto the road at last.

"Damn right" Lois agreed as she started straight ahead out through the windshield, feeling it was a much safer option than turning her head to glance Clark's way at all.

Unfortunately, Clark was fairly certain this whole red water thing could get a lot more dangerous for him than anyone else. The water in his system might have made him get frisky with Lois, but the feeling that shot through him before they even started, the hot lava sensation followed by an overwhelming urge to misbehave, that was the power of Red Kryptonite. Thankfully so little had gotten into his system, the moment was over before anything too bad had happened. Not that any of it had felt bad, on the contrary, but Clark decided not to dwell too long on that. As he'd rightfully told Lois, Chloe was the important person in all this, she should be their focus.

Unsurprisingly, the rest of the journey to the Luthor Mansion was spent in silence, neither of the truck's occupants willing to speak, their minds still reeling from the experience they'd shared. Okay, so it was only making out, but just a couple of minutes more and they'd have been caught in a clinch they couldn't easily get out of. Both Lois and Clark forced themselves not to think about the 'what if' implications, the pair of them shifting uncomfortably in their seats for very similar reasons.

At first, they were both relieved when Lex's house came into view. They were almost where they needed to be and then they could get out of the truck and not have to sit this close to each other. They could go and deal with somebody else's problem and take their minds completely off each other and what they'd done. Unfortunately, their luck was out.

"What the hell…?" Lois gasped as she saw the gates before them open and a Porsche pull out onto the road.

Chloe waved happily from the front seat, deliberately using her left hand, the diamond upon it flashing in the bright sunlight and almost blinding both Lois and Clark through the windshield of the truck.

"Is that what I think it is?" Clark checked in astonishment as Lois nodded her head.

"An engagement ring" she said flatly, as she stared at the bottle of water still in her hand, "What the hell is this stuff?"

"I wish I could tell you" Clark muttered to himself as he swung the truck a complete one-eighty and set off after Lex's car.

He was never going to catch it, but hopefully he'd get wherever they were going in time to stop anymore of this madness. Presumably if the unlikely couple went without the pink-hued water that was fuelling their passion, it would wear off, just the same as it had for himself and Lois. Unfortunately, they'd consumed so much already and probably more than anyone else was even aware of. What they might be capable of by now didn't bear thinking about.

"Come on, Smallville, put your foot on the gas already!" Lois complained as Lex's car zoomed off so far ahead of them.

"Lois, I know how to drive" he complained, as annoyed at her for being present at all as for opening her mouth.

After all, by himself Clark could have super-sped to the mansion and probably saved the day before Lex and Chloe had even had a chance to contemplate marriage and driving off like crazy people. As it was he had to do everything the slow way, the normal way, and he hated that! For all the times he wished to be a regular human being, there were plenty when Clark was glad of his abilities too. In this particular instance he'd like the ability to silence people like Lois, he thought to himself, only to recall that the only time she'd been quiet so far on this trip was when his tongue was in her mouth. That caused some uncomfortable feelings in all kinds of ways and Clark forced his eyes to the road and his mind to the job in hand as he continued tailing Lex's Porche back towards town.

* * *

"I'll come pick you up in a few hours" Jonathan told his wife as he let her out of the Kent's second and more dilapidated truck, outside of the Talon, "Hopefully in better transportation"

"I hope so" Martha said through the open window, "Mostly because that will mean Clark is home and we'll know if Chloe and Lex are okay"

"My concern is for her, not for him" her husband said sharply, "I just can't completely trust the boy, Martha, not after all he's done"

"All he's done? Or all that his family might've done?" she checked, an eyebrow raised as Jonathan glanced away.

They had this discussion a lot. Jonathan had never had a high opinion of Lex, and his wife knew that it was mostly based on the past antics of Lionel and the reputation his son had from his young and wild days. Lex had proven himself to be a worthy friend of Clark for the most part. Sure, he'd made mistakes and bad decisions but then that was true of everybody at different times in their life. Right now it seemed perhaps he and Chloe both were making some odd choices, as yet it was not absolutely clear why that was, or if the effects could be reversed.

Just as Martha was about to say goodbye to her husband and unlock the coffee house as she'd come to do, a squeal of tyres caught their attention Around the bend at the top of the road came a Porsche, and only one person could have been driving, both Kents were sure of that. Parking up in front of the Talon, Lex and a laughing Chloe disembarked, taking hold of each others hands as they did so.

"Lex, I don't need anymore gifts or surprises!" she told him as he led her over to the front door of the Talon where a bewildered Martha Kent stood still.

"You'll need this" Lex promised his fiance, "You'll want it too" he added with a wicked smirk, as he felt in his pocket for the key to the front door.

"Lex..." Martha began, as Jonathan got out of the truck and came to stand beside her.

"Mrs Kent, and Mr Kent" he greeted them with a smile, "I'm so glad you're here to share our happy news"

"What news?" the older man snapped, clearly unimpressed.

Chloe was affronted on Lex's behalf by her friends father's tone. He had no right to look down on her man, nobody did, and she wasn't going to stand for it.

"The news that Lex and I are getting married" she said triumphantly, flashing her diamond ring under their noses.

"Oh, Chloe" Martha gasped, "I really don't think..." she began only to be interrupted by the blonde who spoke a lot more disrespectfully to the older woman than she usually would.

"Fortunately, Martha, I don't care much what anybody thinks" she said sharply, "This is the happiest I have been in a very long time. Lex makes me happy" she said definitely as he released her hand just long enough to get the door to the Talon open.

"Surprise" he said with a grin as he flung open the door and Chloe moved to peer through into the building.

"Lex, what am I looking at?" she asked, squeezing past him and going inside.

Lex followed her, as did the Kents, completely bemused by all that was happening, and moreover concerned as to where Clark and Lois might be. They got their answer as another squeal of tyres announced the arrival of their son and his friend. They arrived just in time to hear the little announcement Lex was making.

"You're looking at your wedding present" he smiled as he turned and faced his fiancé, "Lana's gone to Paris and hasn't even bothered to answer my messages for past few weeks, she clearly doesn't care about this place, and given your particular love for coffee..." he smirked, "The Talon is yours, Chloe"

"Oh my God" she gasped at the huge gift he was giving her as she threw herself into his arms, "I love you, Lex" she told him, before kissing him deeply, despite the audience of onlookers.

Lois shook her head in disbelief at the sight before her.

"This is getting way out of hand"

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To Be Continued...


	8. Chapter 8

**__**

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 8

"This is getting way out of hand" Lois shook her head as she glanced at Clark, then realised she didn't want to be doing that and re-focused on her cousin.

Chloe kept a firm grip on Lex, her tongue so far down his throat it looked positively painful.

"What's the matter, Lois?" she asked her when she finally came up for air, though her eyes never left her fiancé, "Jealous?"

"Of you and him?" her cousin scoffed, "Yeah, right, 'cause that'll happen"

"This is ridiculous" Jonathan threw in, playing the high and mighty father figure to all as he was prone to do, "Chloe, think about what you're doing"

"He's right, sweetie" his wife agreed, "Everything is happening so fast? What will your father say when he finds out?" she said, hoping to appeal to any good sense that still existed inside the blonde.

Okay, so maybe it wasn't Chloe who was in control right now, rather a wild side brought on or out by the kryptonite-infected water she had consumed so much of. Still, it was Martha's fond hope that the girl's sensible side would win out over everything else, if only it could be reached.

"Personally, I think my Dad will be thrilled when he hears about me and Lex" Chloe smiled, though there was an anger and defiance in her tone as she kept a grip on the man she would not be torn from so easily, "He's one of the few people around here who like him because they actually bothered to get to know him"

"It's not that we don't like Lex, Chloe" Clark old her, though the look he shot the man beside her spoke volumes, "We just think maybe you're acting a little out of character, both of you" he tried to explain, but clearly she didn't care to listen, neither of them did.

"Because you're always the epitome of good character" Lex rolled his eyes, "Come on, Clark, we all know that beneath that straight-laced farmboy exterior there are secrets and lies, and a whole other person you hope none of us have caught a glimpse of"

"I don't know what you're talking about" his old friend said immediately, though his eyes betrayed him.

Of course he knew what Lex meant. Each time something had happened to him, the effects of meteor rocks over-powering him, making him behave strangely, perhaps even more strangely than Lex and Chloe were now under the influence of red kryptonite infused water. He'd turned bad, mad, and dangerous to know one too many times. It was part of the reason he'd lost Lana, and now he risked letting Chloe ruin her life by not explaining what he knew about what was happening to them both.

"I've had enough of this" Chloe sighed, "Come on, Lex, let's get out of here"

"Hey, hold on a sec" Lois said as she stepped into the path of her cousin as she attempted to leave, practically dragging Lex behind her by the hand.

"Unless you want to wish me luck in married life, Lois, move your ass!" Chloe said somewhat angrily, as her cousin folded her arms across her chest and looked defiant.

"You are not seriously going to marry this guy, Chloe!" Lois practically exploded, compete with emphatic arm gestures, "That's insane"

"What's insane is that we waited this long to be together" Chloe shook her head, "There were so many things supposedly keeping us apart, and you know what, I can't think what any of those great reasons were" she explained, more calmly now, "Lois, please, listen to me" she urged her, as the Kent family looked on, "I love Lex, and he makes me happy. As my cousin, that's all you should want for me"

"It is" she agreed, "but…"

"No" Chloe interrupted, "No buts, no arguments or lectures from any of you" she said definitely, looking harshly at all four of them.

"Come on, Chloe" Lex urged her, putting an arm around her waist and making for the door, "We have a flight to catch"

"You're not taking her anywhere" Clark argued, getting in their way a little more forcefully than Lois had managed, still neither Lex nor Chloe were bothered by his angry look.

"You can't stop this, Clark" his friend told him, looking as defiant as she ever had, "The helicopter is picking us up from Luthorcorp, then it's onto the jet, and we'll be in Vegas by tonight" she said, getting as up in Clark's face as she could manage given the severe height difference, "I _will_ be Mrs Luthor, and if you try to stop us, I will never forgive you for ruining my happiness" she said so seriously that Clark had to believe her.

Probably when the water (or rather the red kryptonite held in the water) lost its hold on her, Chloe would realise how foolish she'd been and her friendship with Clark would be restored no matter what. Still, when Jonathan told his son just to let the young couple go without a fight for now, he stepped aside. He wasn't happy about it, but what else could he do without causing harm to Lex and upsetting Chloe all over again?

Outside the Talon, Lex opened up the car door and Chloe slid into the passenger seat, whilst her fiancé ran around to the drivers side and joined her.

"All set?" he asked as he buckled his seatbelt.

"Almost" she said as she pushed herself over, practically into his lap as she kissed him thoroughly, a moment later returning to her seat as if nothing had happened, "All set" she said, with a devilish smile on her lips, as she fastened her own seat-belt, knowing just exactly what she had done to him.

"You are wicked woman, Miss Sullivan" he told her with a similar smirk as the car engine revved into life beneath them.

"I'm a _thirsty_ woman, Mr Luthor" she replied, adjusting the wing mirror so she could see to touch up her lipstick before the off, "What say we stop off at the store on the way to the factory?" she suggested.

"Sounds good" he nodded in response before the car peeled away from the kerb, laying down rubber as it shot off down the street.

Back inside the Talon, tensions ran high as Clark paced the floor of the coffee shop.

"We shouldn't have let them go" he shook his head, looking to his father, "If we could've just kept them here..."

"Then what, son?" Jonathan challenged the boy, "What are you going to do? Tie them up to a couple of chairs and hope for the best?" he asked him, knowing the suggestion was as ridiculous as it sounded.

"Sweetie, there's really no point in keeping Lex and Chloe in Smallville or apart from each other until we know how to stop what's happening to them"

"You guys really think it's this pink water?" Lois checked, barely able to look at Clark even as she asked the question.

Of course, she should already knew the answer to her own question. The effects of the pink-hued liquid had made themselves obvious in the truck on the way over to the Luthor Mansion. There was simply no way she and Clark would've made out like they had without something very weird happening, and yet inside her own head there was a little voice telling Lois that her putting the moves on Smallville wasn't all down to something she'd got from a drink of water.

"What else could it be?" Clark asked her, and she seriously wondered if he'd gotten the ability to hear her thoughts somewhere along the line, "I can't believe Chloe or _anybody_" he said pointedly, "would act this way without something affecting their behaviour"

"It certainly wouldn't be the first time the meteor rocks, both green and red, have altered the way people act" Martha agreed, "It seems a likely solution"

"But if that's what it is, why isn't it wearing off?" Lois asked, feeling frustrated by the whole situation, not least because it meant spending more and more time with Clark and that just made her increasingly uncomfortable right now.

"What's to say it does wear off?" Jonathan said thoughtfully, "Could be there's some cure they need… unless of course you two know differently?" he asked, a frown creasing his forehead as he looked between the pair.

"Clark? Lois?" Martha prompted when she too realised how awkward they suddenly looked, glancing at each other before their eyes went to the floor, staring at their own shuffling feet.

"I might've drank some of the water" Lois admitted, clearing her throat and hoping maybe she hadn't been heard.

"It was before she knew that might be what was affecting Lex and Chloe" Clark found himself defending the girl beside him though he wasn't sure why.

Making this all Lois' stupid fault would be easier and get him in less trouble, but for some reason he felt the need to keep her out of trouble too. As it was, this whole mess was really nobody's fault, expect for perhaps the person who was selling aphrodisiac water to the town!

"Hey, at least we know the stuff wears off after a while" Lois shrugged, "That should be a good thing"

"But only if Chloe and Lex stop drinking it" Martha pointed out, "As long as they're adding to the supply in their system, its going to keep fuelling their… erratic behaviour" she said carefully.

"And it almost seems like it's addictive" Clark sighed, "The way Chloe's been drinking that stuff, its worse than her usual coffee obsession"

"Speaking of which, it's almost time to open up this place" Martha noticed as she glanced at her watch, "I know this is a serious situation, but I can't afford to let this place go under…"

"You and Dad do what you have to, Mom" Clark told her, "I can figure this out" he assured her.

"Hey, what am I? Chopped liver?" Lois asked, hands on her hips and looking decidedly unimpressed, "We're talking about my cousin here, Smallville. I'm going to help with this too"

Clark stood and stared across at her, knowing he had no way to argue. She was right, she had as much if not more reason to want to figure this out as he did. The only way he might convince her to let him do this alone was to spill out every secret of his life, something he was not about to do with a girl he didn't know well at all, even if he had gotten further with her than any other woman he knew.

"Fine" he said through gritted teeth, "We'll work together" he said, hating the triumphant smile that appeared on her face, one or two ways of removing said self-satisfied smirk from her face springing to mind, both of which were pretty much flashbacks to earlier in the truck.

Shaking his head to clear those thoughts away, Clark concentrated on his parents talking to him about the best way forward with this. Chloe was what was important and the danger she might be putting herself in by getting mixed up with Lex Luthor, whilst under the influence of some kind of drug. Heaven only knew how Chloe might end up suffering if Clark and Lois didn't do something to save her. Of course the biggest problem was, they were talking about a young woman who really did not want to be saved.

* * *

"Really, sir, that's all we have room for" one of Lex Luthor's many assistants told him as they stood up on the Helipad, atop the Luthorcorp building.

Chloe had wanted to take a good supply of her latest favourite drink with them on their trip to Vegas, and her new fiancé certainly hadn't argued the point. Unfortunately, a helicopter was small and light and must remain so if they were going to stay in the air. Only one crate of the pink-hued water would fit alongside two over-night bags for the happy couple and a pilot to fly the craft in the first place!

"It's fine, Lex" Chloe yelled over the noise of the helicopter's prop, "I just want to go, I want to marry you, right now" she said with a sly grin, "You know I'm not bothered by the size of your... chopper"

He smirked at her joke before taking her by surprise, pulling her roughly into his arms and kissing her long and hard.

"That'll be the last time you're disappointed on that score, Miss Sullivan, I assure you" he told her, leaving in her in no doubt of his meaning as he held her body close to his own.

"Er, sir..." the awkward looking young man from before tried to catch his boss' attention, even as the couple were moving in for another steamy kiss, "The pilot is ready to go, if you are"

"I've never been more ready for anything in my whole life" Lex replied, though his eyes never left Chloe's own gaze.

"Me either" she agreed wholeheartedly, as they turned at last to board the helicopter and prepared for take off.

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To Be Continued...


	9. Chapter 9

**__**

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 9

"Are you sure you can do this?" Clark asked as he continued to pace the Sullivans' living room, checking his watch every other minute, "It's been two hours"

"Will you quit bugging me, Smallville!" Lois complained as she sat over her cousin's laptop, trying to hack her way in, "Ironically, the person who would be best at this is the person whose computer we're trying to break into" she sighed as she made another attempt to bypass the password protection, or maybe just guess at the damn word that would've been used.

"What do you really think we're going to find anyway?" Clark asked as he leaned on the back of the chair and peered over Lois' shoulder, thinking better of the move a moment later when she turned to look at him and they came quite literally face to face.

"I don't know" she admitted as he darted back away from her, and Lois moved her eyes back to the computer screen, "What I do know is that Chloe keeps everything on this damn computer, and if we want information on what's happening to her and maybe how to stop it, it's all gonna be in here" Lois said definitely.

Clark had to admit that what she said was most likely true. Chloe's computer was her life and everything that mattered was saved in there somewhere. That included all her Wall of Weird material, which might just lead them to some kind of cure for the meteor-rock infection she and Lex seemed to have. If they wouldn't stop drinking the stuff then it would never wear off naturally, and that meant a cure had to be found, and fast.

"Would you do something useful besides pace, Smallville?" Lois urged Clark when he continued to move silently behind her, both distracting and annoying her immensely, "Go see if the coffee if ready or something" she said, with a gesture of her hand that was to send him away to the kitchen.

"Who died and made you Queen of the World?" Clark muttered, as he did as she said.

Honestly, he was surprised Lois had survived this long without a caffeinated beverage, since usually she was almost as bad as Chloe for main-lining coffee. All that concentrating she was doing, all the running around and... other activities they'd partaken in already today, he was concerned at least a little for her energy levels. His own were not a factor, of course, not for a good long while, but he could still use a drink he decided as he poured out two mugs of coffee and took them through to the living room.

"Yes!" Lois declared just he got in the doorway, causing him to jump and almost throw the drinks down himself.

"Lois!" he complained, though she barely noticed as she shot up from her chair excitedly and pointed at the screen like a child squealing over presents Santa had brought.

"I did it! I got it! We're in!" she said delightedly, though Clark looked decidedly under-whelmed, "Oh come on, Smallville, at least look a little impressed!" she said, as she took her coffee from his hand and re-took her seat.

"Yay, Lois" he dead-panned as he pulled up a chair beside her, taking care not to sit too close.

Lois tried to ignore the fact she could feel his presence so intensely. It was only Clark Kent, no big deal, and what they'd done in the truck was just a blip, a moment of insanity brought on by a kind of drug that had gotten into her system completely by chance. Unfortunately, all rational arguments got lost in Lois' head, amongst a haze of pink-hued memories as she sipped her coffee.

If she were completely honest, her dirty thoughts about Clark Kent had begun way before today. That first time they'd met, well, what was a young woman to do when faced with a naked body like that? There was no denying that God had blessed the guy, and she would have had to have been blind not to notice. He was the good kind too, maybe a little straight-laced, but the thought occurred to Lois that perhaps that was what she needed. It had proved much too difficult dating bad boys, trying to make them behave when she needed them to. Maybe what would work better was to be with a nice guy like Clark, and just encourage his wild side out once in a while.

"Lois?" the very man in question said her name again, snapping his fingers in front of her face as she gazed un-seeing at the computer screen, "Come on, what's wrong with you, we need to work through these files?" he reminded her, as he picked up his own coffee and downed most of it in one go.

Though the liquid was hot, it didn't burn, barely felt warm in fact to the man of steel. What did cause a sensation inside of him, Clark realised, was something he should never have consumed. In the split second before he forgot to care about it, he knew that it wasn't Lois who had left water in the coffee machine, it was Chloe, because it wasn't just any water that coffee had been made with.

Of course, by the time realisation set in for either Clark or Lois, it was far too late. Any sensible reasoning was abandoned from their minds in favour of more pleasurable activities. Turning at almost the same moment to look at each other, with matching smiles on their faces, it was all too obvious what was coming next.

"Are you bored with this yet?" he asked her, the look in his eyes telling her exactly what he'd rather be doing.

"Completely" she nodded, barely giving him a chance to breathe before her arm snaked around his neck and pulled him forward, crushing his lips against her own.

In the midst of kryptonite-induced passion, all reasonable thought was forgotten as once again the pair completely abandoned themselves to their want for each other. The thought didn't occur that they ought not to be doing this, that it was wrong, that they would regret it later. They needed to be close to each other, and that need was almost overwhelming, to the point where the two wooden chairs they were balanced on couldn't take the pressure anymore.

As the furniture tumbled backwards, Lois and Clark found themselves rolling across the floor, eventually hitting the couch, her on top of him, sending her into a momentary fit of giggles. The laughter didn't last long as she looked down into his fiery eyes and was once again overtaken by want for this guy.

Tongues battling for dominance and hands sliding inside clothes, it seemed the effects of what they'd drunk was more potent this time and was not about to end any time soon. Here in the house the pair had easier access to places that they were hindered from reaching in the car. Movement being simpler here, it wasn't long before both were out of their tops, and fingers drifted to the fastenings of pants.

"We should... go upstairs" Lois gasped in air between long hot kisses, knowing even in her state of passion that the living room carpet was not going to be as comfortable for this activity as a bed might be, and it wasn't like they didn't have that option.

"Good idea" Clark agreed, pushing himself up off the floor, never letting up his hold on Lois as he continued to kiss her skin, making her gasp and moan.

He practically carried her up the stairs and they tumbled in through the nearest bedroom door, landing on Chloe's bed in a tangle of limbs. Lois had her eyes closed at first but when she opened them, recognising her surroundings, she pushed Clark away a little.

"We can't do this here" she said with a slight frown, "It's Chloe's room"

"Like it matters" Clark told her, with a smirk, before going right back to his original activity, "I want you, Lois" he whispered in her ear, as if it were not already obvious in every possible way to the woman beneath him.

She mumbled something against his lips that seemed to return the sentiment as she worked the buckle on his belt, whilst he attempted to kick off his shoes. In the general struggle to get out of their clothes, the pair sent a random pile of Chloe's belongings spilling onto the floor. The contents of a book bag rolled across the carpet, and immediately Clark's mind was not on Lois.

A pain shot through the farmboy's entire body which could only mean one thing, he realised. One hand went to his head as he moved off Lois and the bed, practically falling onto the floor. There on the carpet right by his head he spotted the problem, a large piece of green kryptonite which for whatever reason Chloe must've had in her bag.

"Clark?" Lois frowned, not understanding what was happening.

One minute they were half way to happy land and the next he was gone. This did not please Lois at all and she was about to get into some seriously disappointed yelling when she moved to get off the bed and yelped as her barefoot landed on a rock.

"Ouch, damn!" she complained as she lifted her foot to see what damage had been done, then picked up the offending rock and threw it which such force it went sailing out of the open window.

Immediately, Clark felt better for the absence of the meteor rock that would cause him pain. Unfortunately, not all of his nausea went away as he looked up at Lois. It had happened again, and they both knew it as their eyes met briefly.

Without a word, Clark got to his feet, trying to gain his breath. The effects of his making out with Lois had done enough damage, and were consequently causing him pain, but the kryptonite had only added to his general discomfort.

"Wow" Lois said flatly, "Could this be anymore awkward?" she said to Clark, though her eyes remained on the floor as she reached for the comforter at the end of the bed and pulled it up around her shoulders in an attempt to cover the vast amounts of skin she had on show.

Her bra had to be somewhere, and somewhere downstairs was her top. One shoe was visible at the end of the bed, the other having been kicked off in the opposite direction and out of view it seemed. At least she still had her pants on, Lois realised with some relief. They hadn't quite gotten that far, though once again Clark was having to refasten his belt because of her nimble fingers.

He wouldn't look at her at all and was out of the door before Lois had a chance to speak again. Whether he was trying to give her privacy to re-dress herself or if he was just embarrassed, Miss Lane couldn't be sure. Either way she appreciated a few moments to figure out what the hell had happened here.

Infected water in the coffee machine, that had to be it, she realised, but knowing what caused her second near-tumble with Clark Kent didn't make it any the less true that it had occurred. It didn't stop her pulse racing, her lips tingling, and her body aching with desire as yet unsated. Not that this meant she really wanted Clark, at least that was what she tried in vain to convince herself of all over again as she located her own clothes and threw on the nearest of Chloe's tops that would be suitable since she didn't think heading downstairs sans chest-covering would be a good plan right now.

In the living room, Clark couldn't focus. Twice now he'd lost control and that scared him, not least because he knew how dangerous he could be under the thrall of red kryptonite. Lois was a factor too, and the realisation that their making out had gotten very close to sex made him more than a little uncomfortable. Maybe this was okay for her. The fact that they didn't, shouldn't, couldn't like each other made it all ridiculous but she was used to being this way with guys, he figured. Clark himself had never been so free and easy with a girl, and as yet he'd certainly never got as far as actually 'doing it'. Not that he was about to tell Lois that, she had no need to know. Besides it was over now, and it would not be happening again, he'd make sure of that.

"So" Lois said as she appeared in the door way, bringing him out of deep unhelpful thoughts, "I guess now we know what we need to do with Chloe and Lex" she said, "Green meteor rocks, right?"

"Uh-huh" Clark nodded, averting his eyes just the moment he'd looked at her, "Lois, I..." he started, intending it to be an apology maybe, or perhaps his best attempt at an explanation, even though it was neither of their faults this had happened.

"Save it, Smallville" she said, holding up a hand to silence him, as she smiled awkwardly, "Talking about it won't change it" she shook her head, "So let's just get what we need and say Viva Las Vegas"

* * *

Chloe peered out the window of the private jet with a smile on her face as the clouds whizzed by. Life was pretty much perfect right now, she thought, as her focus shifted from the view to her left hand and the diamond that sparkled there. She loved her ring, not because it was big and flashy, not because it was special for being Lex's own mothers originally. No, Chloe's big reason for loving this ring was because it meant she would be Mrs Lex Luthor, and that the two of them would always be bound to each other.

The physical side of their relationship was something she already enjoyed and couldn't wait for more of, but it was much deeper than that. For months she'd known the friendship between them was not enough, and at last they had acted on it. She didn't know anymore what those reasons were for holding back, whatever they had been they didn't matter any more.

"What are you thinking?" Lex asked, noting her thoughtful expression as he returned to his seat opposite her and poured them both a glass of champagne.

"About how much I love you" she admitted, as she leaned forward in her seat, "And how much I can't wait to be your wife"

"Not long to wait" he assured her, as he put down the bottle and picked up her hand, kissing her palm, "Nothing's going to stop us now"

__

To Be Continued...


	10. Chapter 10

**__**

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 10

"Oh, wow" Chloe gasped for about the fourth time as she and Lex walked down the Las Vegas Strip just as it was getting dark, taking in the bright lights and different kinds of people, "This is amazing" she enthused, though her fiancé looked less impressed.

"I guess it is, if this is your first time here" he agreed as he watched her, watching the world.

Vegas held little thrill for the man who had gambled away a fair part of his fortune in the surrounding clubs, and taken a few of the dancers back to his hotel room. Yes, he had a lot of memories of this place, and similar from other places. That version of himself was long gone, the wild and reckless boy who cared nothing for friends, family, or fortune. In place of that person, Lex had started to become another, one far too like his father for comfort. Chloe had changed all that.

Working with this young woman against Lionel had given them a reason to spend more tome together, though little of it was enjoyable back then. Plotting to bring a man down, send him to jail for the rest of his life, it was hardly romantic. Still it was done, and done for the best, and the outcome had been a friendship that only grew stronger as Lex kept Chloe at a safe house and was her sole visitor and friend for several months.

Long weary weeks of work, meetings, the press, and all were borne solely out of knowing that Lex could count on Chloe to brighten his weekends. She smiled throughout it all, and revelled in his conversation about the comings and goings in Smallville. They talked about anything and everything, and an unlikely friendship slowly became something more. He'd felt it sooner than she had, or so he thought, but it was there and started to become obvious quite quickly. There was a connection and an attraction, but neither had been willing then to make the first move.

In all honesty, Lex could not remember a single one of those good reasons that had caused him to hold back. Sure, he knew she was still only seventeen, but age was just a number and she was so very mature, not a naive little princess like Lana Lang or similar. Chloe was all women, in all kinds of ways, and very soon she would be his woman, his wife, the one he would spend the rest of his life with, loving her unconditionally.

"Lex?" she said more loudly, her voice cutting through the fog in his brain as well as the general hustle and bustle noise of the Strip, "Are you okay?"

"I was just thinking" he told her, turning to face her and smiling as he ran his fingers through her hair, "You know I can't imagine my life without you in it? You've made me a better man, Chloe, and I can't figure out what I did to deserve you"

"Must've been something pretty awful" she joked, and though he seemed to pick up on the humour, he didn't really laugh, just stared down at her in that intense way that made her whole body quiver in the best way, "Lex, I'm not going anywhere" she promised him, "We came here to get married, remember?" she told him, flashing her diamond under his nose, "This is what I want"

"Me too" he said, a genuine smile on his lips as he leant in to kiss her softly, "Now come on" he said the moment they parted, "We have a wedding to plan"

* * *

Lois and Clark made pretty good time, landing in Vegas early the next morning. Lois had maxed out her credit card paying for the flights and with the possible need for a hotel and such still to come she was going to in some debt, but that didn't matter to Miss Lane. She was ever determined to stop this before it went too far, before her cousin made the biggest mistake of her life by marrying Lex Luthor. Both the thought of the wedding day and more so the wedding night made Lois physically wince, not least because it reminded her of how close she and Clark had come to cementing their relationship in some very definite way.

Not that they had a relationship, other than a vague, undefined, awkward kind of friendship. Now they were friends that had made out twice and very nearly went way further than that yesterday afternoon. Hell, in the dream Lois had they'd come even closer, though Clark obviously knew nothing of that.

The young Mr Kent was as hell-bent of saving Chloe, and to a lesser extent Lex, from the huge mistake they were about to make under the influence of red kryptonite. He was also as embarrassed, if not more so, than Lois at having to spend time with her like this after what they had done. She tried to make light of it and then ignore it, but Clark couldn't let go so easily. He tried to sleep on the plane, but every time he closed his eyes and relaxed he could see it all again, feel kisses on his skin, hands inside his clothes as Lois moved beneath him.

As much as Clark tried to will away the memories and thoughts that fantasised beyond what actually happened, he couldn't do it. In fact he was seriously starting to think about Lois as girlfriend material, as crazy as that sounded even in his own head! As much as they fought, he had to admit she was fiercely loyal to her family and cared a great deal for Chloe. She was surprisingly respectful to his parents and helped out at the farm if they needed a hand. In her heart, Lois Lane was a good person, he realised, she just liked to hide behind an angry young woman stance quite a lot of the time. When she smiled she was pretty, beautiful even, and Clark wondered how he hadn't seen that before. Perhaps he just hadn't cared to look, so blinded was he by Lana. All this with Chloe and Lex, hanging out so much with Lois, it had at least had the advantage of taking his mind off the girl who had run off to Paris and left him.

"Earth to Kent!" Lois tried one more time to get his attention as he weaved off the wrong way in the airport and she almost lost him, "Geez, where'd you go?" she asked, both his eyes and hers shifting at the same moment and looking down at where her hand was on his arm.

The simple action shouldn't mean anything, but it just served to remind the pair where touching of any kind had led them to before. Lois retracted her fingers in a second, and pointed out the direction they should be going in instead.

"I was just... Doesn't matter" Clark muttered as he pushed past Lois and they headed on out of the airport just as a new morning dawned over Nevada.

__

A few hours later...

"The Riviera, Lois?" Clark shook his head as they exited the over-sized over-priced resort, "How are we going to pay for that?"

"Relax, Smallville, it's only for one night... hopefully" she told him, "And after this is over, believe me a certain Mr Luthor will be paying of my credit card bill after what he's done"

"We don't know that he's done anything" Clark defended his one time friend, though he didn't always trust the guy himself.

"He touched my cousin!" Lois yelled, catching a little too much attention from passers by, and Clark shot her a look that told her to keep it down.

"She was kind of touching him too, Lois" he reminded her, "And besides, we both know that it's not their fault. The water is making them act out of character"

Lois couldn't answer that, since she knew how right he was. Unfortunately, she also knew that her attraction to Clark wasn't one hundred percent borne of infected water. He was hot, she'd have to blind not to know that, and so decent that it drove her crazy. Unlocking his wild side had given Lois a glimpse of the kind of guy Clark Kent could be if he just loosened up a little, and Lois liked that guy. Of course, she wasn't about to tell him that, she could do without him getting a big head and/or going all weird on her, or should that just be more weird, since he was already jumping like a scalded cat every time so much as their elbows touched!

"So, where do we start?" she said, looking down at the list of wedding chapels they'd managed to obtain, "There are so many of these damn things..."

"I guess there has to be, with all the people wanting to get married and all" Clark said unhelpfully as he and Lois leaned over each other to see the list.

"I'm trying to remember anything Chloe might have said, any clue as to which of these places she would choose" her cousin shook her head as she realised nothing was familiar or obviously likely.

"Hold on a second, Lois... Little Chapel of the Flowers" Clark said suddenly, his arm appearing over her shoulder and finger landing on the page where the name was written.

"And Chloe likes flowers?" Lois said, having a vague thought that she probably did, but not really getting it.

"I remember at Lex's last wedding, she loved the flowers" he explained, "She made such a big deal about it, about wanting a whole lot of flowers at her wedding one day"

"Okay..." Lois began, checking the location of the chapel on the map, "That's miles away, and we're running out of time..." she said, with a shake of her head, only when he turned around Clark was gone, and no amount of yelling summoned him back.

* * *

"Are you sure about this, Chloe?" Lex asked her as they stood outside the little chapel she had selected as the one she would most like to get married in.

She had managed to get a fancy dress to wear, something with a little slink and a little class, which was odd for Vegas but Chloe loved it. She made a beautiful bride, there was no doubt about it and Lex was the smartest and proudest groom ever as he waited for their turn to become man and wife.

"I've never been as sure about anything as I am about spending the rest of my life with you" Chloe told him with a smile that lit up her entire face.

"I actually meant are you sure about this chapel?" Lex explained, though her words had made him very happy, "It's such a cheap little place..."

"The money doesn't matter" Chloe shook her head, "It's the most beautiful place, a fairytale kind of place, and perfect for our wedding"

"Our wedding would be perfect wherever it was" Lex assured her, "because in the end I'll be married to you, and you will be Mrs Chloe Luthor" he said as his hands went to her face and he leaned in to kiss her.

"Hmm" she murmured dreamily against his lips, "A perfect wedding day, and then a perfect wedding night" she sighed as they parted, looking forward to the whole thing immensely and not having to wait long for the fun to begin it seemed as a woman came out of the chapel and told them it was their turn.

"Now or never" Chloe smiled, as she picked up the edge of her dress so she wouldn't trip on it and turned towards the door.

"I choose now" Lex told her with a smile as he slipped his hand around hers and they went inside together, seen by the world for the last time as single people, soon to be a married couple.

__

To Be Continued...


	11. Chapter 11

__

**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**

Chapter 11

It ought to seem strange, Chloe thought, as she stood at the alter of a Las Vegas wedding chapel that was almost empty. Here she was marrying the man of her dreams, and yet there was no-one to see it, only a couple of paid witnesses and the guy with the bible in his hands. Her parents, the Kents, Lois and Lucy, none of her friends and family or Lex's own were here to be a part of their happy day. It caused Chloe's smile to waver just a little as she thought about it. Though of course Lex didn't really have any friends or family to invite to such an occasion; one brother dead, another missing, his mother gone and his father in jail. For each drop of hesitation she'd felt a few moments ago now came a huge crashing wave of certainty about what she was doing. Sure, their relationship had moved fast and this wasn't exactly how she'd imagined her wedding day when she was a little girl, but one thing Chloe knew for certain was that she belonged with Lex Luthor.

She loved him so much, it hurt to think of life without him. She felt the pain he felt at being abandoned and unloved for so long. She would be the one to love him now, always and forever, as the perfect wife, just as he would be the perfect husband, she was certain of it. That was why there was no doubt left in her mind at all as the preist asked her if she would take this man to be her lawfully wedded husband.

"I will" she said with a genuine smile up at the man who would be her husband within minutes of this moment.

He looked no less pleased to be stood across from her, about to commit to Chloe for the rest of his life. Of course, Lex had been here before, twice now in fact, and as such expected to be almost afraid of such an event as a wedding. With his first wife being a meteor-infected temptress all out for what she could get, and his second prepared to let him die on a desert island so she could claim his fortune for her own, Lex wondered at his own sanity in standing at an alter for a third time. Of course, this was different, this was Chloe, and she had always been different to anybody else.

From the day he met her, he knew she was a special young lady, and now she was to be his wife. She had grown up fast, she'd had to, and he was proud to say he'd been a friend to her as much as he could throughout that time, as she had been to him through his own hardships. They understood each other in a way he never thought he would have with anybody. In a moment, they would be firmly tied together forever as the priest reiterated his question of commitment to the groom.

"I will" he said definitely, without a moment's hesitation.

"By the power vested in me by the state of Nevada" the priest smiled, "I now pronounce you man and wife" he declared, much to the delight of the couple before him, "You may kiss the bride" he told Lex, who was only to happy to oblige, pulling Chloe to him and taking her breath away with a kiss of true love that she was equally happy to reciprocate.

"I love you, Mrs Luthor" he whispered as they parted and she smiled giddily at the sound of her new title.

"I love you too, Mr Luthor" she repeated back in kind, as they took hold of each others hands and turned to walk back down the aisle, "How fast do you think the driver can get us back to that hotel room?"

* * *

Clark felt quite pleased with himself when he arrived outside the Little Chapel of Flowers within a minute or two of leaving Lois' side. He'd covered a fair distance, speed-reading road signs along the way to get here as fast as he could in the hope of stopping this sham of a wedding before it occurred. Of course, later he would have to make some excuse to Lois for why he ran off and maybe even how he got here so fast if and when she realised he had. Still, he couldn't worry about that right now, he had a wedding to stop.

Unfortunately for Clark, just as he reached the front door of the chapel, hell-bent on yelling that the whole event must be stopped, he realised he was too late. The doors before him swung open the moment he reached for the handle, to reveal the bride and groom that had just now officially become husband and wife. His eyes went wide as he realised he was all too late and just by a moment it seemed. All the air went from his lungs as Lex smirked at him.

"Clark, what a surprise" he said, looking less stunned than he might and completely under-whelmed, "You know you're just a little too late to play best man. Chloe and I are already married" he said, with a steely edge to his voice.

"This is insane" Clark shook his head, "Chloe..." he said, turning to the blonde, but she wouldn't hear anything he had to say.

"For God sakes, Clark, will you just stop it?" she sighed tiredly, "I would think even you could get the message through your thick skull by now" she told him, "Lex and I are married! We love each other and we're married and we're going to be together, whether you like it or not" she said, pushing past him then, and dragging her new husband down the steps behind her as they headed for the car that would take them back to the hotel.

Clark moved to follow but Lex had clearly been expecting trouble. Producing a gun from inside his jacket, he aimed it directly at his friends chest.

"Lex..." Clark started to say, holding his hands up as if to surrender, "You don't wanna do this"

"You're right, Clark, I don't" Lex agreed reasonably, though the look in his eyes was far from that and the barrel of the gun was still pointed at its target, "but I will if you try and stop us"

Clark wanted to do something, try to stop them, but what good could he do? If he tried to take the gun from Lex it could go off, injuring the man who was still his friend. If the bullet hit himself, Clark knew he'd never be able to explain how he survived unhurt without a wound or blood. Besides, under the influence or not, Lex and Chloe were legally married now it seemed and short of his father's earlier and ridiculous suggestion of tying them both to separate chairs to keep them apart, there was very little that could be done. The only cure for the condition was the meteor rock which he realised with some anger and regret that he'd left with Lois back at the hotel.

"Fine" Clark nodded once, taking a definite step back away from the car and dropping his hands to his sides.

Still, Lex kept the the gun a trained on the younger man til he was right inside the car. Soon the happy couple were headed to their own hotel or maybe even to a plane that would take them half way around the world, and Clark knew he had a few options left open to him. Giving up seemed wrong, but the two of them were just so determined, and the weapon Lex wielded presented such problems, despite the farmboy's invulnerability.

Sitting down on the steps to the chapel, Clark put his head in his hands as he tried to figure out how best to fix this. None of his abilities were going to help much, in this situation he was no better off than any other young man with drugged best friends who thought they were in love - yeah, that just happened to everybody!

What bothered him even more than the effect this water was having on Lex and Chloe was the effects it had on him and on Lois too. They couldn't get close, not in that way, it was all wrong, and yet it felt so right when they were together like that. He knew the thought alone was probably turning him into a girl as he considered it but when she kissed him it was like nothing else he'd ever felt before, like fireworks and volcanoes and all those other things he'd previously thought were ridiculous descriptions for such a moment. He could say those feelings came only because of the red kryptonite in his system, but Clark also knew he'd be lying to himself if he did. He'd made out with girls under the influence before, Chloe and Lana being two of them, and yet nothing had ever felt quite like those times with Lois. Dwelling too long on why that might be gave Clark a headache he wasn't used to being super-human. Still, there was very little else filling his brain right now. He must have been sitting there contemplating a while, he realised, when a screech of tyres annouced the arrival of a cab, containing the very woman invading his thoughts.

"Lois?" he frowned as he leapt up from the steps and came towards the car just the moment she disembarked.

"What the hell, Smallville?!" she asked him angrily, "You think it's okay to just leave me standing there talking to myself while you run off to play hero?!"

"I didn't..." he started to protest, but she wouldn't hear it as she rifled through her purse, suddenly pulling out the lead box within and opening it up right in front of Clark.

"What exactly were you going to do without this, Clark?" she asked him, not noticing his sudden need to sit own on the kerb, holding his head that'd ached before but now throbbed like a knife being driven through his brain, "What was the master plan for stopping Chloe marrying Luthor without the rock, dumbass?" she asked, genuinely angry at him it seemed, even as she snapped the box shut once again and pushed it back into her bag as she dropped down beside him on the side of the road.

"I'm sorry" he said in a small voice, all he could manage as the effects of the kryptonite started to wane.

He knew he'd done wrong, though it had felt right at the time. Rushing off and playing hero was what he did. He was Kal-El, sent from Krypton to save himself, and now here to save others, or so he liked to believe. His friends meant so much to him, Chloe in particular because despite all he'd done she always stood by him, even when his excuses were lame as they often were. He was failing her now and he hated it.

"Okay" Lois sighed, "Well, I guess we should head back to the hotel, try and figure out what to do next" she suggested, heaving herself up off the kerb and encouraging Clark to do the same.

She was right, there was no point in sitting there contemplating what they might've done. They'd missed their chance, lost their opportunity. When there next chance would come, nobody knew. That was dependant on if and when they could catch up to Vegas' latest 'happy couple'. The very thought of what they might be doing now made Clark want to blush, not least because he was in the company of Lois, so he said not a word about it.

* * *

Chloe giggled like an over-zealous school girl as she and Lex headed down the hall of the hotel towards their room, a half-drunk bottle of pink water in each of their free hands, and an arm wrapped around each others bodies. So much for celabratory champagne, these two didn't need alcohol to make them fly, love alone was doing that.

As they reached the door, Lex was forced to let up his hold on his new wife as he took the key card from his pocket and passed it through the electronic lock. The laughter died on Chloe's lips as she realised this was the moment, their first time together, the night their relationship was sealed.

"This is it" she whispered, not really meaning to say it out loud and wincing slightly when she realised her mistake.

"Chloe" Lex said in a similarly low tone, lifting her chin until her eyes met his, "You don't have to be nervous" he promised her, "It's just you and me, and we have all night, we can go as slow as you want"

Chloe smiled at the sweet sentiment, and licked her lips that had gone suddenly dry. She nodded her head that she understood before slipping past him into their room and taking a long drink from the bottle in her hand. Finding it was by now empty she dropped it into the waste paper bin and walked towards the vanity mirror. There was no doubting she made a beautiful bride. It was almost a shame that nobody but Lex, and briefly Clark, had got to see it.

Still, she smiled as her husband came into view in the glass, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind. They made the perfect couple, they were together forever now, and that was all that really mattered.

"What are you thinking?" he asked, chin resting on her shoulder as they looked at each other in the mirror.

"That I'm the luckiest woman in the world" she told him with a genuine smile, "Don't ever give me a reason not to think that" she urged him, her face serious in a moment as she turned her head in an attempt to see him properly.

"Never" he swore, as he turned her in his arms, one hand going behind her head and pulling her towards him.

His lips touched hers with the gentleness of love, the kiss soon deepening with the fire of passion that raged in both of them and had gone too long unsated. Chloe soon lost all feelings of nerves or similar with every touch of Lex's lips against hers and his fingers against her skin. Her own hands ran over his chest, fighting with shirt buttons a moment before she quickly became frustrated and just pulled the material apart, sending the fastenings flying. At least her dress was not to be similarly spoilt as snaps were all that held it together for the length of the back. Chloe knew her grooms impatience much better than he had anticipated hers it seemed, and he was grateful for it.

As her wedding dress dropped to the floor and pooled around her feet, Lex stepped back to take in the sight of his new wife, beautiful as she was. Chloe herself waited but a moment to move, not wanting to waste a moment of this, their first real night together. She didn't regret delaying until they were married, it was worth a couple of days pain to have this, such a special night together. Man and wife forever one, literally so very soon, as she pulled him forward, the two of them falling backwards onto the bed.

Before, Chloe might have laughed at the haphazard way they landed, or the awkward moments of trying to get them both out of the rest of their clothes, but not tonight. This was so serious and real, girlish giggles and silly comments or jokes had no place here. If she hadn't known it before now she saw it in this moment as Lex manoeuvred the two of them into a better position on the bed, never letting up on touch and kissing her, making her body come alive in ways Chloe had never felt before. Her eyes were closed as he hovered over her, and she suddenly realised the contact was gone. When she looked up at him she gasped at the love and passion combined in his gaze, a long moments painful anticipation as he slowly leaned forward and whispered words of love against her lips as he finally entered her, completely taking her breath away. All rational thoughts left Chloe's head then as she clung to the man she loved, and he took her to the very brink of ecstasy in his arms, both of them knowing that this had to be some kind of heaven, and never wanting it to end.

__

To Be Continued...


	12. Chapter 12

_**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**_

Chapter 12

"Lois, this is stupid" Clark complained as they walked into their hotel and straight up to the bar, "How is drinking going to solve anything?" he asked her as she hopped up on a barstool and waited for some service.

"Smallville, it's been a long day" she said tiredly, noticing the clock said past midnight already, "We have schlepped the Strip for hours trying to find the hotel where 'Mr and Mrs Luthor' are staying" she shuddered even as she said it, "I'm done for tonight, and I need a drink" she said definitely as a bar tender suddenly appeared.

"What can I get you?" he asked the pair as Clark sighed and gave in, sitting down on the stool beside Lois.

Just as soon as she looked his way and actually for once addressed him by his name when asking what drink he'd like, the barman retracted his question.

"Ah, Lois Lane and Clark Kent, right?" he smiled in a way that made them both a little uncomfortable.

"Okay, when did we become Vegas celebrities?" she asked both the guy before her and the one to her right.

"Your friends were here earlier. The happy couple?" the barmen told them, as both Clark and Lois turned pale, "I don't know what exactly has been going on with you but they asked me if you came here to find them... well, it's all here" he said, ducking under the bar and reappearing with an envelope which he laid before them on the bar.

Both Clark and Lois reached for what they presumed to be a note from Chloe, since the handwriting seemed to be hers. Knowing there was no point arguing, Clark gave in first and simply sat waiting to hear what was in the note as Lois ripped it open and read aloud.

"'Dear Lois and Clark, Some investigative reporters you guys would make! You really think you would be able to find us and stop us in time?'" she read, rolling her eyes and sighing as she did so, "'Don't think you stand a chance now because you found this note, it won't lead you to us. I just wanted to tell you how happy I am now as the new Mrs Luthor' Yeah, right" Lois commented before continuing, "'Please, you guys, please be happy for me. Enjoy your drinks, have a great night in Vegas, and then go home'" Chloe instructed through Lois' voice as she read on, "'I'll see you when I get there, when I hope you'll have got over this and be genuinely happy for me. Love you. Chloe'"

"She's out of her mind" Clark shook his head, "This is crazy! Have a good night and go home? How can she think we'd do that?"

"I honestly don't know what going on" the barman shook his head as the younger man shot a dirty look his way, despite the fact this really had little or nothing to do with him, "All I know is that letter was for you, as are these... the drinks she was talking about" he explained as he put them on the bar before Lois and Clark, "Compliments of the Luthors" he tried with a smile, but neither of the pair looked pleased.

Quickly excusing himself and hurrying off to serve other patrons, Lois and Clark were left alone, looking first at the two odd looking cocktails before them and then at each other.

"They should print a T-shirt" Lois sighed heavily, "I came all the way to Las Vegas to save my cousin from a fate worse than death" she said dramatically, "And all I got was this crappy cocktail" she declared as she picked up the glass that contained some purplish liquid as well as two umbrellas and various fruit.

"What is it?" Clark looked at the drink with distaste, turning the glass to get a better look.

"I don't know" Lois admitted, "and I don't care. Smallville, we've done all we can do today, and this drink is free, hopefully alcoholic, and not even a fraction of what Luthor owes us!" she said definitely, "So I say we drink up, we get some sleep, and tomorrow we try and put a stop to the craziness, because honestly, right now, I don't have a better plan"

Clark would have liked to argue, but he was out of ideas too, and starting to get tired. He wasn't much of a drinker and what had been placed before them on the bar didn't exactly look appealing, but hey, what the hell.

"When in Vegas..." he muttered as he picked up the glass and raised it to his lips, looking sideways at Lois as she did the same.

Perhaps it should've occurred to the pair that drinking anything they couldn't identify might be dangerous. Surely that thought should occur to anyone at any time, but most particularly to the undefined couple from Smallville who had known such troubles the last couple of days and all caused by an as yet mysterious drink. Downing their cocktails in one hit, it took just moments for Clark to realise what they'd done, and a second later he forgot to care.

"Wow, that's got a kick" Lois noted as she replaced her glass on the bar besides Clark's own, "What do you think is in it?" she asked Clark, as her hand went to her chest.

"I don't care" he told her honestly with a wicked smile as he looked over at her and she smiled, undoing the top button of her own shirt.

"Is it me, or is getting hot in here?" she said, the second button coming open too as she pulled the band from her hair and shook it out around her face.

"Well, maybe it'll be cooler upstairs" Clark suggested, getting to his feet and holding out a hand for Lois to take, "Besides, you look like you could use a lie down" he said, as he eyes raked over her body.

"You have no idea" she agreed as she took hold of his hand, and he pulled her off the stool with such force she crashed into his solid chest, her knees giving way a little as he held onto her with strong arms.

Glancing up at him through her lashes, Lois swallowed hard when she saw the very real fire in Clark's eyes for her. God but she wanted him, even now as something slight and quiet in the back of her mind told her she shouldn't. The feelings of lust, of passion, of love even, rushed through her body and overtook her as he held her there in his arms. His own feelings clearly matched her own as he leant in and crushed his lips against hers in a searing kiss that took her breath away to the point where her legs barely held her weight. A moment later she realised they didn't have to as Clark pulled back and looked at her with a smirk, his arm curling under her legs and sweeping her up into his arms.

"My hero" she giggled like some saved damsel, causing him to laugh too as he carried her towards the stairs.

* * * * *

Lex couldn't sleep, despite the fact he should be tired in every possible way. He guessed it was starting to wear off, the adrenaline rush borne out of the excitement of the day. Finding himself both loved and in love, bolting from his home with the woman of his dreams to get married in Las Vegas, spending hours making love until they were spent, and his beautiful bride had fallen asleep like a delicate angel in his arms. Chloe was everything he had ever wanted and he ought to be sleeping at her side now, and yet he could not.

Something was bothering Lex, a little voice in the back of his head saying this wasn't right. He couldn't fathom where such a notion came from. He loved Chloe and she loved him, this day and night together had been the best of his life and he doubted that would ever change. Still he couldn't shake the niggling doubt and that made him worry.

Reaching onto the night stand for a drink of water, never letting go of his beloved, Lex gulped down the remainder of pink liquid from the bottle. Immediately he felt contented and happy again. He knew he'd been a fool to worry, and that doubt that lingered in the back of his mind a moment before vanished without a trace as he laid down beside Chloe once again and kissed her forehead, her cheek, and her lips, till she finally awoke.

"I love you" he whispered as she smiled and stirred in his arms.

"I love you too" she replied as her eyes fluttered open, "That's a nice way to wake up" she said with a sigh as she shifted in his arms and gazed up at his face in the half light.

"Then I'll make an effort to oblige the lady every morning" he smiled back at her as he softly kissed her lips.

"I can't believe we're married" she sighed, as he held her close, "It's not exactly a plan that I had but now... I can't imagine wanting anything else but to be with you" she told him honestly.

As he looked down at her angelic face in the dim light, a wave of contentment washed over the young Mr Luthor who always believed he could never be so happy. He always wanted more than he had, always craved to win another battle, conquer another place. All this he found slid away as he laid here with his new wife in his arms. She was the only world he wanted, her love the only thing he would ever need, and her opinion of him the only one that mattered.

"Chloe, I swear I will not let you down" Lex swore to her, with such intensity in his eyes and tone it almost made her cry, "Anything you want..."

"I already have everything I ever wanted" she told him, silencing him with a finger on has lips, "You're everything I want, Lex, everything..." she whispered as she replaced her hand with her lips on his and kissed him.

The passion between them soon ignited, and the happy couple made sweet love again. Though the fire remained, this was love, in the truest sense. Chloe had never felt like this about another man in her whole life, and she knew without a doubt she had made no mistake in marrying Lex. He had meant so much to her for so long now, she was only glad she'd been allowed to tell him and show him. So long she'd been afraid of rejection, after so many times before with other guys she thought she could love. Clark was a good friend, up to now anyway, but that was all he was ever going to be for Chloe. She realised now how foolish she had been to try and make something more out of that relationship. Her heart would always and forever belong to the man she could now call her husband.

Lex wondered how he had ever doubted his love for Chloe or hers for him. Women had previously come close to being his downfall and yet Chloe had remained steadfast throughout. She was his match in wit and intelligence despite the difference in their age, and he knew her well enough to know she was not here and married to him to relieve him of his fortune. In truth, he would trade every penny he had if it meant keeping Chloe here with him forever. She was all he wanted in every way, and no riches or power he had so often strived for could ever compare to this feeling of being with his beloved wife.

When the couple finally fell asleep a while later, they knew they did not need to dream, they already had everything they could ever desire right here, wrapped in each others arms.

* * * * *

Crashing through the door of a room just down the hall, Clark and Lois were far less content than the couple they had previously been chasing around. They had such a need and want for each other, that could not be controlled. It did not occur to either of them that this was inappropriate or wrong, forgotten was the awkwardness and such that came after their last attempt to get so close. This time it seemed nothing would stop them as they fell onto the bed together in a tangle of limbs, shoes off and shirts soon to follow.

"Oh, Clark" Lois gasped, lying on top of him as he kissed her skin, "I want you"

"Want you too, Lois... love you" he told her between kisses, shocking her out of her passion-induced daze for a moment as she pulled back to look at him with a slight frown on her face.

"You... Oh my God, you do love me" she said, a grin breaking through before she threw herself down on top of him once again and kissed him hungrily, "I love you too" she swore as her hands moved down his body and worked on getting his pants off, as well as her own.

Words of passion and love already spoken, actions would be the real proof of what existed between the couple that would have only denied any such a attraction a few minutes ago. Now all they knew was each other, how much want and need and love they felt as they realised this was it,. the moment that had been too long in coming. Looking down into his eyes as Clark looked back up into hers, Lois could not mistake the love he had for her, and only hoped he saw as clearly the true feelings that came from her heart as two quivering shadows on the wall became one and a second love was entirely proven tonight in a moonlit Vegas hotel room.

_To Be Continued..._


	13. Chapter 13

_**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**_

Chapter 13

Lois awoke to the beautiful feeling of strong arms around her body, holding her close, as sun trickled in through the window and warmed her skin. For a few seconds she was happy, literally smiling at the warm safe feeling she got from being here like this. Unfortunately, as her dream-like state gave way to reality and her eyes snapped open, Lois didn't feel so relaxed and comfortable anymore.

Glancing down at the arm curled around her middle, she knew she had not dreamt the man that held her now. Shifting her body against the warm but solid object behind her told her in no uncertain terms she was here with a man and within a moment her brain was flooded with memories of what she had done and with whom.

"Oh my God" she gasped as she practically leapt out of the bed, staring down wide-eyed and a still sleepy Clark, "Smallville!" she yelled, snapping him from the daze of slumber he found himself in, but not fast enough.

As his eyes focused on the only person who could be demanding his attention, Clark got the shock of his life to see Lois standing over him, completely naked.

"Geez, Lois" he said, turning his head away sharply, as the young woman herself seemed to take notice of her own state of undress and grabbed the comforter, wrapping it around her body.

"Yeah, Clark, because the sight of me is so shocking right now, after... what happened" she snapped at him, equal parts shocked and embarrassed and angry about what had taken place.

She remembered it all, in glorious technicolor detail; from drinking a cocktail in the bar, to being carried up to this room, from the moments of sweet passionate love to falling into contented sleep in each others arms. The whole thing had been beautiful, beyond anything Lois Lane had ever felt before, and that was perhaps what made her feel worse about it.

"I don't understand..." Clark shook his head, his naivity only making Lois more mad at him, though it was not his intention.

"What do you need, Smallville? A diagram?" she asked angrily as she hopped around the room, trying to locate her clothing which seemed to be all over the place.

"No" Clark muttered from his place still sat up in the bed.

He thought he ought to get up and get dressed but he could do without Lois getting yet another look at his naked body. She'd seen it enough times before, of course, and last night she'd done things to him that the very thought of caused another large reason not to come out from under the bedclothes any time soon!

He knew very well what they'd done, and suspected he knew why too. Clearly the drinks they'd had in the bar were that purple shade for a reason - something blue and something pink mixed together he presumed, and knew then what the pink liquid would have been. Whether Chloe and Lex were aware of the cocktail they were giving to himself and Lois or the effects it would have, Clark wasn't certain, all he knew for sure right now was that he was embarrassed beyond comprehension, not least because as he recalled the night before he realised that being with Lois that way was the greatest thing he had ever felt.

"Are you just going to sit there all day staring?" Lois snapped at him, and as he glanced her way and realised she was now wearing at least some clothes, enough to cover everything vital, "If you can't do anything else, at least try to remember what you did with my bra last night" she said, apparently hunting around for said item.

"Lois, I... I'm sorry" he said, reaching for his pants that she had recently tossed at him and pulling them on whilst still covered by the sheets, "About what happened last night, I..."

"Forget it, Smallville" she waved a hand at him in an uncaring gesture, but the fact remained she couldn't look him in the eyes right now, "It was just sex, it's not like I haven't been there before" she said, as she looked under the bed for her missing underwear.

Of course it was a much bigger deal than Miss Lane was pretending. It was true, she wasn't a virgin when she slept with Clark last night, but she wasn't some kind of slut either. There had been a couple of guys, but that was all, and neither of them had made her feel quite like Smallville had. She'd like to say it was all the water's fault, but she knew that just wasn't true. You couldn't fake what was between them when they made love like that. The way he looked at her, the way they kissed and touched each other, it was so real, so intense, so overwhelming, even now as Lois recalled it. This was the real reason she couldn't bear to look at Clark, she figured, though her eyes were immediately on him when he spoke, her head whipping round in an instant.

"I haven't" he muttered, though she heard the words loud and clear in the silent room.

"What?" she asked immediately, "What did you just say?"

"Nothing" he told her just as fast as he stood the opposite side of the bed to her now, concentrating only on buttoning his shirt.

Of course that nothing was in fact something. She'd said that wasn't her first time, but what she didn't know yet was that it had been his. The only girl he'd really been serious about before now was Lana and they'd never really got past second base! Sex had never been something he'd got close to with anyone until Lois. Last night when they went 'all the way' as it were, it was all a brand new experience for Clark, and it was strange to realise that despite the red kryptonite in his system, he'd kept complete control. Usually his abilities ran riot when he was under the influence, and yet one thing he'd always feared so much, hurting or harming a woman he cared about when they were together in this way, it seemed he'd been worried for nothing.

"Clark" Lois was suddenly beside him and in the mess of thoughts in his head, he really hadn't noticed til her hand touched his arm and made him physically jump, "I didn't know..." she said, looking almost guilty as she retracted her hand and finally met his eyes for a moment.

"Doesn't matter" Clark said, pushing past her and moving around the bed to locate the rest of his clothes, though the conversation at hand ought to have been rather more important than shoes and socks!

This whole thing was just so embarrassing for the young man who practically blushed at everything related to intimacy. Sex would've been the last thing he would want to discuss at the best of times, and especially not with Lois. Unfortunately, he had little choice right now, given how they'd spent the night.

"Of course it matters, Smallville!" she yelled at him, frustrated by his attitude as much as she was by what had happened really, "I mean, how is it even possible that you..." she said, as Clark looked at her only enough to glare a little, "I'm not blind, y'know? You're not exactly unattractive and you were with Lana so long..."

"We just didn't, okay?" he snapped at her, knowing he couldn't explain it to her, even if he wanted to, and he really didn't right now.

Lois felt awful, not least because she'd slept with this guy under the influence and in a state of less than sound mind. She doubted the 'first time' meant as much to guys as it did to girls, though Clark was the thoughtful kind, she knew, and probably would've preferred to save himself for marriage of something similarly quaint. They weren't even in love, although the thought suddenly occurred to Lois that in the heat of the moment they had said as much. She wanted Clark, in a moment of sheer animal passion, but he had loved her, so he'd said. Her response was to tell him she felt he same, and when she thought about it hard enough she knew at the time of saying the words they had been real. It was ridiculous to think that anything but the freaky water they'd consumed had caused it, and yet she couldn't shake the little voice in the back of her head that said it wasn't true as she stared at Clark.

"It was the water" she said aloud, though whether she was trying to reassure him or herself, Lois couldn't be certain, "It's not our fault, it was just a mistake, like a side-effect, right?" she said, both question and statement in one as she stared at him.

Clark looked back at her with equally troubled eyes as sat in her own face. Neither of them could really answer her question. Had they behaved the way they had because of the water alone? It had certainly taken away their inhibitions, made them stop caring about the consequences of their actions. Whether or not it had actually made them want and indeed love each other, neither seemed to know for sure, and Clark couldn't stand the intensity of the situation as their gazes remained locked too long.

"I have to get out of here" he declared suddenly turning towards the door.

"Running away doesn't change this" Lois said as she went after him, grabbing his arm as the door opened.

"What do you want from me, Lois?" he said, an angry edge to his voice by now.

He didn't want this, all these complications in his life, he had enough already, not least trying to figure out how to get Chloe and Lex back to normal before things got out of hand. On reflection, Clark knew it was too late for that, but it was still a situation he had to deal with.

"I just think…" Lois began, stopping short as the pair turned as one there in the bedroom doorway.

Movement was audible behind the door across the hall and when it suddenly opened the arguing non-couple were stunned to see the very person they'd been chasing around the last couple of days.

"Chloe!" Lois gasped, looking past her cousin and spotting Lex still lounging in the bed.

It shocked both Lois and Clark to realise that the wedding night of their friends had in fact been consummated the same night as their as yet undefined relationship, and right across the hall from each other. This was perhaps the greatest evidence to suggest that coincidences were all too common, especially where the residence of Smallville were concerned.

"What are you…?" Chloe asked, as Lois dove back into the room she and Clark shared.

In a moment she was back and Clark knew her plan as a wave of nausea hit him and his head throbbed.

"Hey, cous" Lois smiled sweetly even as she raised her arm, "Catch!" she said as she threw the green rock in her hand.

Instead of doing as she was told and raising her own hand to catch the object, Chloe ducked away from the projectile, sending it sailing past her and skimming the side of Lex's unsuspecting bald head, before knocking against the headboard and bouncing back into the centre of the bed. Spinning around to see her new husband's fate, Chloe looked positively distraught to see blood trickled from a cut on the side of Lex's head. Bolting back into the room, she barely noticed Lois and Clark follow her as she scrambled onto the bed to check Lex's injury. In doing so, she moved straight over the rock, the green kryptonite making contact with the skin of her legs and feet as she moved up beside her husband. In an instant she forgot what she was doing and why she was here. Just as fast, she recalled it all, every moment and every detail, and for the first time in two days realised it was all wrong.

"Chloe..." Lex said softly, his own brain unscrambling too as their eyes met for just a moment.

"No" the blonde said flatly as her face crumpled and tears ran from her eyes, "Oh my God" she gasped, her hand covering her mouth as she leapt off the bed and ran for the adjoining bathroom.

"Chloe!" Lois yelled, hurrying after her, as Lex looked over at his old friend with a frown on his face.

Clark knew that look, and the feeling attached to it. After all that had happened, he couldn't really blame Lex, or Chloe, anymore than he and Lois could blame themselves or each other for what had happened. Still, that didn't mean they wouldn't all have to deal with consequences, and that particular hardship started now.

_To Be Continued..._


	14. Chapter 14

_**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**_

Chapter 14

It had been two days. In a lot of ways it felt much longer and yet two days was all it had been. From that moment in Lex's office sipping pink water to the second the green meteor rock touched her skin. It was like a rose-tinted dream or possibly a nightmare, yet it was reality and Chloe knew it. Since then there had been two more days, forty eight hours that had dragged on and on, with memories taunting her both asleep and awake. A million mixed up feelings were washing around inside of her and she had not a clue what to do about them.

Embarrassment stopped her from wanting to face anybody that knew of her behaviour. The clothes she'd worn, the things she'd said, Chloe was mortified to remember parts of it. She was surprised that Clark and Lois even wanted to 'save' her after all she'd said and done, and if the Kents ever spoke to her again it would be a miracle. Then there was Lex.

In legal terms they were husband and wife and there on the coffee table sat the rings that symbolised their marriage. The diamond sparkled prettily in the sunlight from the window and the gold band next to it shone bright as Chloe had felt when Lex slipped it on to her finger. Now the only thing Chloe wore as a reminder of that time was a frown and tear-stains from crying so hard. She'd been so stupid, though apparently it was not her fault. Meteor-infections were rife in the leafy little hamlet she called home, but Smallville's ample supply of both green and red meteor rocks didn't change how Chloe felt in her heart. The water had made her behave irrationally, removed all the inhibitions and good sense she should usually have, but the attraction, the lust, the love, that was all very real.

It had started out as a silly crush, borne out of a semi-relationship through their mutual friend, Clark. Over time, specifically the time spent at the safe house over the Summer, Chloe had come to realise her feelings for Lex were much deeper than she'd ever thought possible. She liked him, more than liked him, though she'd never really let her mind ponder on it too much. It was a relationship she believed could never be, given so many obstacles. He was rich and powerful, several years her senior, and able to get any woman he wanted in the world. To him she might be a friend of sorts but at best a school girl whose company he would outgrow before long, she guessed.

Now things were so different. With no sensible reasons taunting her, telling her not to make a move, not to risk damaging another friendship like she had with Clark for the sake of a passion that would probably fizzle out in no time, Chloe dove head-first into a whirlwind romance with the young Mr Luthor, who seemed no less keen than she was for them to get as close as possible in every conceivable way. It was beyond attraction, beyond sex, even beyond love. The connection between them, the need to be together was overwhelming, and though the effects of the pink water had been apparently neutralised by the green meteor rock at the hotel in Vegas, Chloe still felt that pull inside to be with the man she loved.

Oh yes, she loved him. It had been true before all of this and remained just as real now. The question that Chloe continued to wonder on was if Lex was feeling the same. There was nothing to say if the water magnified a persons feelings or not, no evidence to suggest whether it invented emotions in some and not in others. Clark and Lois were less than forthcoming in their explanations about the pink liquids effects, though the way they kept glancing at each other, Chloe wondered if it had made something happen between them. Still, that was not evidence enough for her. She had long since wondered if behind all the fighting her cousin and her friend might have some kind of hidden feelings for each other, which only served to fuel her theory that Lex must indeed feel something real for her. Still, she could not face him yet and would not ask such a thing even if she could stand to look him in the eye.

"It's like a nightmare!" she declared to the ceiling as she shut her eyes tight and wished the world away.

Of course, two short days ago her opinion was quite the opposite. Her life had felt like a dream then, sharing everything, mind, body, and soul, with the man she loved most in the world. She felt like nothing could hurt her, nothing could tarnish the bright and gleaming future she saw rolling out before her and Lex, the new Mr and Mrs Luthor. The way he looked at her at their wedding, God, she'd never seen such love and devotion, and when they made love, well, that was a feeling Chloe knew she would never get anywhere else with anyone else. In fairness, she had a fairly small window of reference when it came to sexual activities, but even she knew the average roll in the hay wasn't that spectacular.

An involuntary shudder shot down her spine and she opened her eyes fast, trying to think of something else, anything but that night in bed with Lex. Trying to convince herself it was only so good because he had experience on his side didn't help at all because deep down Chloe knew it wouldn't have been half so special if she hadn't known the whole act was most definitely borne out of love.

If she was so sure of Lex's love for her, Chloe couldn't quite wrap her head around why she hadn't yet gone to face him. Then the little voice in the back of her mind reminded her that so many times before wishful thinking had made a fool out of her. There was no hard evidence to suggest that Lex really loved her or even liked her after all this. He was probably less eager to face her than anyone right now, maybe even wanted to forget the whole sorry business. Every good reporter knows you don't act without evidence, and since leaving her home meant facing a world that had borne witness to so much embarrassing behaviour from her recently, Chloe found herself in quite the quandary that resulted in her staying in the house still, not answering the phone to anyone except her Dad who thankfully had little time to chat and called only to say he must be away a couple more days. That was actually music to the teens ears, since until she got this all straight in her own head, she had no way to explain it to her father who was less than likely to understand.

A sudden knock at the door startled Chloe from her thoughts. Her head whipped around to look towards the window though from here she stood no chance of seeing who was there. Getting up from her seat, she crept across the room, hid behind the curtain and peered outside. There was a figure at the front door that she identified immediately before he even coupled his next knock with a call of her name.

"Chloe, will you please open the door?" he urged her, though he was fairly certain it was all in vain.

Lex really didn't blame her for not wanting to talk to him. The behaviour they had both exhibited had been beyond ridiculous, even if those two days had in many ways been the best of his life. He had to blame himself for what had happened, after all, he was the one to purchase the infected water. Besides which, out of both of them he ought to be sensible and in control even if Chloe found herself unable to be so. He was a Luthor, they were never supposed to lose it like that, and yet both the affect of the water and Chloe's want for him had been intoxicating.

For a long time now, Lex had known he had feelings for the blonde reporter, though his good sense had told him not to pursue a relationship. Though beautiful and intelligent and everything a man might want in a woman, she was still a high school girl and the daughter of an employee. Any kind of affair between them would be insupportable and he knew it, and yet right now he wanted nothing more than to have her back in his arms. Though they had been together for such a short time and apart barely as long since, Lex missed her like hell, every minute.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Chloe was less than willing, since she would not even answer the door to his knocking or calling her name. He was fairly certain that out of the corner of his eye he'd seen the curtain move, but he wasn't going to push her. Despite his usual doubts where the true affection of women was concerned, Lex knew Chloe was not hiding from him because of lack of feeling, in fact he knew it was quite the opposite.

"Have it your way" he called to her, stooping to place something on the doorstep, before heading back to his car and driving away at speed.

When Chloe was quite sure he was gone, she took a deep breath and headed for the front door. Prizing it open just enough to see what had been deposited on the step, the little blonde gasped at the sight of a huge bunch of flowers, all the beautiful blooms they'd had at their wedding two days ago, bound by a ribbon with a note tucked inside.

Pulling the bouquet into the house, Chloe breathed the scent of the flowers as she carefully carried them to the kitchen and placed them in the sink for now. As gorgeous as they were, her mind was not on arranging them in vases, her priority was the envelope delivered with the gift. It bore her name in Lex's own hand she noted as she carried it through to the living room. Curling up on the couch, Chloe found her hands were shaking as she opened up the letter and began to read...

* * * * *

"I guessed this was where you'd be hiding" Jonathan Kent smiled as he climbed the stairs to the upper level of the barn and found Clark standing there, looking out at the scenery.

"Sorry, Dad. Did you need some help with something?" he asked, as his head shot round to look at his father, a guilty expression on his face.

"No, son" his father assured him, patting him on the shoulder as he came to stand beside him, "I actually came to ask you if you were okay. Y'know you haven't seemed quite yourself since you got back from Las Vegas..."

He let the sentence hang there, hoping Clark would open up about whatever was bothering. For his own part, the younger man would love to share what he was thinking and feeling, since Jonathan almost always had some good fatherly advice to impart. Unfortunately, this was perhaps the most awkward subject for him to talk about with anyone, least of all his Dad! Still, it was this or keep bottling everything up til it drove him completely crazy.

"It's Lois" he sighed, looking out at the trees and fields, deliberately averting his eyes from his father who he knew was staring at him still, "We... Things got kind of complicated"

"Son, if this is all about that kiss you two had one time when you were under the influence..." Jonathan started, only to be interrupted by his son.

"It wasn't just one time" he said, glancing at his father and immediately regretting it, "And it wasn't just the kissing" he added, looking down at his own shuffling feet before moving to sit down on the couch, "Dad, I didn't even know if I could... y'know, without hurting somebody, especially on red kryptonite"

"Well, I'm guessing that question got answered in Las Vegas?" his father said as he came to sit opposite him, and Clark's awkward silence giving him his answer.

Jonathan wasn't exactly pleased to be in this conversation now either. He'd had no idea that the problem with both his son and Lois was of this kind. It had been the assumption of both himself and Martha that the pair had an argument or something, he never presumed it had been quite the opposite.

"I just keep thinking that it shouldn't have happened" Clark said, shaking his head, "but part of me... part of me is kind of glad that it did"

"Well, you know, son" his father began, clearing his throat, "It's, er, it's perfectly normal that you... enjoyed your experience with Lois" he said awkwardly, "And you can't blame yourself for the risks you took, that water affected your self-control, took away your good sense, for both of you..."

"Dad, Lex had his science guys test that water" Clark cut in, "The red kryptonite was only part of the story, there was other stuff in it too. I don't remember all the details, but it was the exact mixture that made us all act so weird" he explained, though not very well, as proven by the baffled look on his fathers face, "Lex said that the water only made the feelings we already had come out, they were always there, it just made us forget all the reasons why we might need to bury them"

"And you believe this?" Jonathan checked, seeing from the look on his son's face that he had a reason too.

It seemed a little bizarre to think that Clark and Lois might really like each other, though of course Jonathan knew as well as anyone that so many couples that fought at first fell in love later. Arguments and insults often hid true feelings of attraction and love, that could easily be true of Clark and Lois he supposed.

"Son, if you think you might have feelings for Lois and it's possible she might feel the same" he said, putting a hand on his son's shoulder as he got up from his seat, "Maybe you should talk to her about this, instead of hiding away. You might find out she's having the same worries you are"

With that he left his son alone, sage fatherly advice ringing in his ears. Clark knew that his Dad was right. Talking about problems, trying to deal with them, it was the only way. He'd tried running away from problems so many times before, it only ever made things worse and more difficult in the long run. Still, facing Lois and talking about feelings he almost wished he hadn't discovered wasn't a prospect he relished.

With a sigh, Clark got up from the couch and went back to the window, looking out. As if it were planned somehow, Lois appeared below him, helping Martha load boxes into the back of the truck. Though she was struggling a little with the weight she was carrying, she wore a smile, the sun lighting her from behind like some kind of angel.

Clark caught himself in such romantic thoughts and straightened up. He was under no effects on strange water or red kryptonite anymore. Truth be told, he'd known from the day he met Lois Lane that she was beautiful and kind and decent, from Day One he realised he'd fallen a little bit in love with her and now... his father was right, he had to talk to her about this, consequences be damned, he decided, as he super-sped down the barn steps.

_To Be Continued..._


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N : Time to end this fun little ride, with a happily ever after, of course. Thanx for the reviews over the course of the story :-)**

_**(For dislaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**_

Chapter 15

"Lois..." Clark said as he came into the kitchen and found her there alone.

Startled by the sound of his voice, the young woman in question turned sharply, sending a half-filled coffee mug smashing to the ground.

"Damn!" she cursed as she jumped back to prevent herself being hurt by flying shards of crockery or hot liquid, then crouching down to survey the damage and clean up the mess.

"I'm sorry" Clark said quickly as he rushed over to assist, "I didn't mean to scare you..."

"You didn't" Lois told him as they both reached for the same large piece of coffee mug, fingers touching and sending electric pules through both of them as their eyes briefly met too, "You want something specific, Smallville?" she asked, immediately re-focusing her eyes on anything else but the guy she spoke to.

It was too weird and too awkward to deal with. To think she might actually like this guy in any real way was insane to Lois, and yet she couldn't help herself. She'd pretty much refused to talk to him since Vegas, trying to keep her attention on Chloe at least until her cousin had locked herself away at home, refusing to talk to anyone. Since then it had been any place she could run to just to keep out of Clark's way so they didn't have to have this talk she knew was coming.

"Lois, we have to talk about what happened" Clark told her, leaning on the counter beside her as she cleaned up the mess she'd made and started over making coffee, "We can't just keep avoiding each other and..."

"Why not?" she interrupted, "I mean, it's working pretty well so far" she smiled in an over-zealous way that was far from genuine as she pushed past him to get to the refrigerator.

"Lois, come on" he urged her, deliberately not moving out of her way and pulling her gently by the arm to face him.

"What do you want me to say, Clark?" she asked him desperately, "Because I sure as hell don't know where to start" she said with a shake of her head as she faced him.

"Lex had tests run on that water, Lois" he explained to her, "We wouldn't have... done what we did if we didn't... if we hadn't wanted to" he said, fighting the urge to blush like a kid about it.

Lois should've been shocked by what Smallville was telling her, but she wasn't really. She knew deep down she liked this guy, more than liked actually. As insane as it seemed, as outrageous as the idea was that she could already be in love with this farm boy, it was true as the sun shone. He made her feel different to any other guy she'd ever got close to, and she didn't really want to give that feeling up. She'd thought she was doing the right thing just avoiding him but Lois ought to have known that would never work. Running away from problems or difficult situations had never panned out too well before, there was no reason it should work now.

"What can I say, Smallville?" she forced a smile, "God gave you a good deal. Y'know with the nice guy angle and the hot bod. It's a tough combination to ignore" she told him, perhaps the first sober compliment she'd ever paid him.

"He, er, didn't exactly screw up when he made you either, Lois" he told her as they managed to embarrass each other entirely, especially the way they were still stood so close together, memories of all they'd done under the influence shooting through both their minds, "but y'know he maybe could've turned the attitude down just a notch" he joked, the smirk that appeared on his face making her laugh through what might've been a pissed off expression as she smacked him across the shoulder.

"There are times when I wonder what I see in you, Clark Kent" she said as she moved past him and reached for another mug to pour him a coffee.

He watched her with a smile on his face that just wouldn't shift. Life was going to be a little different with Lois in it as his girlfriend now, but one thing was for sure, it'd never be dull.

* * * * *

Lex just couldn't concentrate on work. The only thing on his mind was a certain blonde woman who, despite their wedding, had never actually been his wife. At seventeen and without parental consent, Chloe was not legally bound to Lex and he ought to have known it before they ever got as far as the flight to Nevada. Still, he had hardly been in his right mind, neither of them had, and all that had mattered was being together in any and all possible ways.

Sitting back in his chair with his feet up on the desk, Lex twirled a gold band around between his fingers, the symbol that had bound him to Chloe. Still, the ring was not so important, nor the wedding or similar. What mattered was the way he felt, the way he had always felt and always would, about Miss Chloe Sullivan. She had to feel the same, he knew she did, and yet she wouldn't even talk to him right now. She was naturally both shocked and embarrassed by what they'd done under the influence of water that was clearly infected by red meteor rocks. Lex only hoped the letter he had left for her, along with the flowers, would be enough to convince her of his true feelings, and eventually help her to be brave enough to admit her own.

"What the hell is this, Luthor?!" Chloe suddenly burst through the double doors, looking far more formidable than even Lionel ever had as she barged over to the desk, glaring at a startled Lex who hid his reaction well.

"I'm fairly certain that's the letter I left outside your door, Chloe" he told her evenly as he dropped his feet down off the desk and turned in to better face her, "Since you wouldn't answer your phone or the door, you gave me little choice but to write down my feelings and explanation..."

"Is that what this is?" she asked, backing up from the desk, hoping he took it as a burst of anger that threw her back rather than the real reason - she couldn't stand being that close to him, feeling his breath on her face, his eyes boring into her own as if he wanted to drown in her. No, right now she intended to be mad at him, get all this stuff off her chest.

"You had another idea?" Lex asked easily, knowing already that he was making her nervous, more so as he got up from his seat and walked around the desk.

"I'll tell you what this is" Chloe said waving the piece of paper around in her hand, "It is a travesty of a piece of writing, Lex. I mean, come on, how does an educated businessman make school kid mistakes" she laughed without amusement as she backed up a step when he moved forward slightly, eyes following her, staring intently the whole entire time, "Y, O, U, apostrophe, R, E means _you are_. Y, O, U, R spells your!" she told him, "And as for your so-called feelings for me..."

"I'm afraid they're going to be a little harder to argue with than my spelling, Miss Sullivan" Lex told her with a wicked look in his eye as he realised she definitely was moving backwards every time he moved forward and she was very close to running out of space before her back hit the wall, "Unfortunately, I was writing from the heart, my head wasn't checking every letter and comma, but I didn't lie about what I feel"

Chloe meant to answer back immediately, she had a hundred things in her head on the way over and now, between the way he was looking at her and talking about his feelings that brought back so many beautiful memories, the poor little blonde quite forgot herself. Her lack of food or something must have caught up with her, either that or Lex possessed some kind of thrall that had hypnotised her for she felt herself suddenly lurch backwards. As her hand shot out to save her and hit the wall she realised just how far back across the office he had caused her to go, and that broke the spell, making her mad all over again.

"How dare you?" she said angrily as she shoved him away and stormed back to the centre of the room, slamming the page from her hand onto his desk with a thud, "How dare you make me feel this way? Like I don't even know how to say what I think anymore"

"If I might make a suggestion" Lex ventured, staying where he was for now and pushing his hands into his pockets, a sign he was backing off just a little since his intention was never to make her quite this uncomfortable and distressed, "Maybe you should stop thinking about it so much. It seemed to work well before, for both of us"

"No" Chloe shook her head, "What happened was insane, Lex, and it wasn't real" she told him firmly, speaking of their marriage which he quite rightly told her in his letter had to mean nothing in the eyes of the law given her underage status.

Still, she knew everything else had been rooted in reality, the feelings that existed between them, the love that wouldn't die. With her hand to her aching head and her eyes closed a moment, Chloe was unaware that Lex had crossed the room and was now stood before her, close as he could be without touching.

"Lex..." she said more softly than she meant to, her breath catching in her throat as his arm went around her body and pulled her tight against him as he crushed his lips to hers.

The kiss was familiar and none the less exhilarating than any they'd shared under the influence of the water that had removed all their inhibitions. Lex's hand on the back of her head kept Chloe close, but the truth of it was it was clear she was not trying to get away as they both savoured the moment and showed each other how deeply they really felt for each other. As they parted, both were breathing heavily and obviously wishing things were as simple as that brief interlude had been. Nothing to figure out, no worries or fears, like before. Things were different now, but that didn't mean Lex was giving up.

"Now" he said, holding her close still and staring into her eyes, "tell me that wasn't real" he challenged her.

Chloe knew she couldn't do it, there was no possible way. She had no defence, no way to lie to him. Even if she could find the words, her eyes would give her away. She was as in love as he was, that was real and true, and without speaking a word they both knew and understood it.

"I... I could use a drink" she told him breathlessly, "Definitely _not_ water" she specified with a smirk that he soon shared as he regretfully let go of her and crossed to the small bar.

Chloe braced herself back against the desk as she tried to catch her breath and regain her bearings. This was ridiculous and insane, and yet it was what she wanted and apparently what Lex wanted too. The idea they could really be in love, be a couple, be happy, to the outside world it would be impossible and far beyond the realms of normalcy. Still, as Chloe watched Lex pour two stiff drinks and walk back to her, she knew it would be the most natural thing in the world to her.

"Thank you" she said softly, as she accepted the offered glass and threw back the shot of whiskey in one as he did the same.

The alcohol burnt Chloe's throat, but it was nothing compared to the feeling that remained on her lips and all over her body where Lex had just touched her. She had a feeling he knew what he did to her, but she had yet to admit as much as him. The physical attraction between them was not to be denied, but he didn't know yet that her heart was as lost as his own.

"Lex..." she began as she put her now empty glass down on the edge of the desk, hoping he would just let her get this out whilst she felt brave, but no such luck.

"Chloe, before you say anything, I want you to know that I meant every word I said in that letter. I love you" he assured her, "This isn't just a fixation or a want for something I can't or shouldn't have..."

"Lex, I never thought that" Chloe assured him, "None of this... it's not exactly how I planned us getting together, if I ever planned it at all" she shook her head as a nervous laugh escaped her lips, "Lately, you were the one person I could always talk to, that always understood. Now everything's different"

"That doesn't have to be a bad thing" he said, feeling like the one woman in his life he truly loved might be slipping through his fingers and hating it, "Chloe, I know a lot happened quickly, and whilst I'm not sorry to have been close to you, I am sorry that things weren't how they should've been, especially since, well, that night should've been more special for you" he said, the closest to awkward that Chloe had ever seen this usually confident man look.

"If that's the thing that's bothering you, then don't worry" she shook her head quickly, "I wasn't... well, let's just say I wasn't exactly truthful when I wore white at our wedding" she said, nervously tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Oh" was all Lex could find to say, unsure whether he liked it better or not now that she'd confessed such a thing to him.

"But that doesn't mean that night wasn't special, it was" she promised him, pushing herself forward a step, standing toe to toe with him as he turned to look down on her with love in his eyes once more, "Lex, what happened was crazy, beyond crazy actually, but I can't really regret it. I love you" she told him at last, her hand going to his face as she stared up into his eyes, "And I just think if we can maybe start again, do things properly this time... I think we could have something really good here" she told him as he pushed her hair from her face and pulled her gently to him.

"I'll drink to that" he said with a smirk and a raised eyebrow that caused her eyes to go wide when she realised what he meant, but did not have time to react, as his lips covered hers.

"Do you have a lock on those doors?" Chloe said with a wicked gleam in her eyes as they parted enough to breathe and she glanced towards the way she entered his office before.

"Should I ask why?" Lex checked as she moved out from the space between his body and the desk, pulling him across the office by the hand.

"I'd give you three guesses" the blonde said as they reached the side of the pool table and she pulled herself up to sit on the edge, "but I hope you don't need them..."

"I don't" he assured her, returning her wicked look, hands and lips on her body in a second as he pushed her back against the surface of the table and the world around them disappeared into nothing.

- The End -


End file.
